Stop climate change!

Making a commitment to halting the progress of global warming is everyone’s responsibility. We can all, as individuals, help fight climate change, so to coincide with International Day of Climate Action, which this year is being held on Sunday 24 October, please consider taking the following actions:

Reduce CO₂ emissions: use your car less and, where possible, use sustainable means of transport, like cycling, or use public transport more. For long distances, rail travel is a much more sustainable option than flying, which is responsible for a significant percentage of the CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere.

Save energy: look at a domestic appliance’s EU Energy Label before buying it and never leave an appliance in standby mode. Do not leave your mobile phone charger plugged in all the time (even when not connected to your phone). And adjust the thermostat of your heating or air conditioning to properly regulate the temperature in your home. With these simple tips, you can save both energy and money.

Change your light bulbs: replace your traditional light bulbs with halogen or LED light bulbs. This not only saves energy and reduces contamination, but the savings you will make on your electricity bill significantly outweigh the initial expense of the bulbs, given that they last for around 15,000 hours, some 3 to 25 times the duration of conventional bulbs.

Apply the three Rs of sustainability:

• Reduce. This is one of the individual actions with the most impact on planetary health. Avoid consumerism by buying only what you need. When you no longer have use for an item that is still serviceable, an effective way of reducing consumption is to give it away or sell it to someone who can extend its useful life.
• Reuse. Buy second-hand goods. Take advantage of markets and apps where you can buy and sell clothes, tech products, toys and other items, or give them a second life by repurposing them. The more you reduce your consumption, the more you save!
• Recycle. Did you know that by recycling just half of your rubbish you can reduce the amount of CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere by 730 kg a year?

Say no to plastic bags: when you do your supermarket shop, don’t forget to take your own bag! There are much cleaner and greener alternatives to carry your shopping home.

Changing your diet is the best way of reducing carbon emissions

Reduce your consumption of meat (livestock farming is one of the largest sources of atmospheric pollution) and eat more fruit and vegetables.

Buy local products. Read the labels on items and buy those produced near where you live, avoiding the extra emissions that importing them would generate. Consume seasonal products, avoiding the use of less sustainable production methods, and also more bioproducts, which use fewer pesticides and other chemicals.

Remember that the best option is the Mediterranean diet for both your health and the environment.

Plant a tree (or lots of them!): trees absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere, making them vitally important in the fight against climate change. If you are fortunate enough to own land, or even just a patio, plant a tree. And if you’re not, then support reforestation projects. More trees means more oxygen and less carbon dioxide.

Take into account that digital platforms generate a digital carbon footprint and contribute to climate change.

The researchers Xavier Vilajosana and Borja Martínez also recommend rationalizing multimedia content and responsibly using digital platforms. Within these apps, there is also scope to make more environmentally friendly choices, such as not activating your device’s camera when on a video call (reducing its impact by 61%) and listening to music without playing videos, that is, using Spotify instead of YouTube if you’re not interested in seeing the images.

Read the full article on UOC News [CA | ES].