‘Everyone has an impact’: how to start reducing your environmental footprint
‘Everyone has an impact’: how to start reducing your environmental footprint
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As fires tear through California and Trump sets back efforts to curb the rise of global temperatures, what can individuals do to make a difference?. 2024 was the hottest year on record. Average global temperatures rose to 1.6C above preindustrial levels, according to data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) – a rise that led to extreme weather events and “misery to millions of people”, as one of the group’s experts told the Guardian.
![[Madeleine Aggeler]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2023/10/31/Madeline_Aggeler.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Less than a month into the new year, fires have torn through huge swaths of Los Angeles, upending the lives of thousands. Donald Trump, a climate denier, is pulling the country out of international climate agreements and setting back efforts to curb the rise of average global temperatures.
All of this has resulted in a growing sense of climate despair among experts and laypeople alike. Governments and corporations bear a huge portion of the responsibility. But what can individuals do in the face of such massive, global threats?. “Everyone has an impact,” says Darcy Hoover, senior resource specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Corporations are made up of individuals, states are made up of individuals. We need action at all levels.”.
What are the most effective steps one can take to reduce one’s environmental footprint? And how does one influence others to take action? We asked experts. The first step to taking climate action is knowing that your actions matter. “I think people feel overwhelmed or like they have to be an expert to take some of this action, and you really, really don’t,” says Samantha Harrington, director of audience experience at Yale Climate Connections.
