Before we look at what you can do, note that big automobile industries, refineries, commercial farmers, and others are the entities with the highest carbon emissions. It is because we rely on them to provide the products and food that we enjoy at home. If we reduce our reliance on these big industries, they won’t have to produce more.

So a good way to solve the problem may be from our government and legislative level to regulate these big companies. We can get our leaders to make laws that discourage activities that have a high carbon footprint.

Did you know:
Energy production and consumption contribute to emissions. Improving energy efficiency will reduce global emissions. In modern times, new energy-efficient buildings use 60–90% less energy than conventional buildings of a similar type and configuration.

But many of our leaders have been a bit disappointing. So it is our turn to do our bit!

Start by reducing your carbon footprint. Your carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide), which were produced by your activities in a given time frame.

Let’s start with vehicles. Vehicles produce greenhouse gases.

Go by bus!
Get your family to go to school, work, market, holiday, place of worship on a bus rather than in a parent’s car. It is cheaper too.

Walk! Don’t drive.
Walk to the shop, market, farm, school, and everywhere you can walk. Sometimes there are too many cars causing heavy traffic, and it is better to walk. It is also a great exercise.

Ride! Don’t drive.
You can always ride down to almost everywhere. It’s great fun and good exercise!

Protect and plant trees.

Planting trees is a fun and great way to reduce greenhouse gases. Trees absorb CO2, (a greenhouse gas) from the air. This means the air will be fresher and also help regulate climate. You can also save old trees by protecting them from being cut down. One great way to have fun with trees is to plant one on every special day like your birthday, Christmas, National holidays, or even in memory of special friends.

Recycle, reduce, and re-use items.
Recycling, reducing the use of things, and re-using things is also a brilliant attitude for us to acquire. When we recycle cans, bottles, plastic, and paper, we send less trash to a landfill. It also helps save natural resources such as trees, oil, and aluminum.

When you go shopping, always look for the recycling mark on products before buying them. The mark means they have been produced from recycled materials, and you want to encourage them to do so.

If your community does not have recycling services with waste collection, this is the time to join a group to talk about it.

Tip…

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Tip…

As trees grow, they help stop climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the air, storing carbon in the trees and soil, and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.

In recent times, some coal industries are finding ways to capture CO2 emissions and storing them deep under the sea bed. This move is called Carbon Capture and Storage.