CHANGE MODULES
ACTIONS TO TAKE…
Go Beyond
Why is going beyond important?
Going beyond is our last module. You have all learnt how to make your own life sustainable and now it is time to share this knowledge with your social circle and call upon the people in power to take action too. Imagine if everyone in your Change Club contacts three people and influences them to change a habit in their life, that would mean that the number of people taking action through Change Clubs would have already quadrupled. Isn’t that motivating? If we all help together, we can definitely make a change, so it is important to get people on board and to use your voice to speak up for what you stand for.
Biggest Impact
1. Advocate for system change
Why is advocating for system change so important?
Advocating for system change can be done in many different ways. It means getting in contact with your regional politicians, signing petitions or going to demonstrations etc. Basically doing whatever you can to influence politics and make them focus on sustainability.
Advocating for system change is essential to address the root causes of climate change, to reach the scale and urgency required for this global problem, to challenge existing structural barriers of our system, and to bring co-benefits and holistic solutions to our society.
Overall, advocating for system change acknowledges the interconnectedness of climate change with our economic, political, and social systems. By challenging and transforming these systems, we can create a more sustainable and resilient future for both the planet and your future generation.
Special tips
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Contact politicians and ask them to enforce the green policies that they promised. You can write them an email; meet them in person; or tweet, direct message or tag them in a post.
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Attend public meetings, and support policies that address climate change.
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Create or sign a petition calling for action.
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Go to a demonstration – bring your kids if appropriate (e.g. Fridays for Future).
Some examples for what you can advocate for:
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switching to renewable energy
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stopping to support the extraction of fossil fuels
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subsidising citizens for sustainable housing
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improving public transport systems
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making agriculture sustainable
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protecting nature reserves
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cleaning up the environment
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construction of more bike lanes and pavements
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construction of more green areas and parks
2. Talk about it
Why is talking about climate change so important?
Talking about climate change is key to spreading awareness and education. Open dialogue about climate change can motivate people, communities, governments and businesses to take action. It creates a sense of urgency and encourages people to make sustainable choices in their daily lives.
It is crucial for raising awareness, mobilising action, fostering collaboration and innovation, advocating for policy change and promoting equity and justice. By engaging in open dialogue, we can collectively address the challenges posed by climate change and work towards a more sustainable and resilient future.
Don’t forget to talk to the older generations who have more conservative views too. These conversations can sometimes be difficult to navigate, so having a few stats and numbers memorised can help to credibly convey your point.
Special tips
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Talk about climate change and biodiversity loss with your social circles.
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Also discuss what steps we can take to minimise our carbon footprint → get inspiration from the other modules.
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You can talk to your family, friends, work colleagues at the university, school, sport club, home, religious community or at any other place about climate action.
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Try and bring climate change into conversations, you could set yourself a goal of how many times you want to talk about climate action in a month and see if you achieve that goal.
More information and tips
3. Offset your carbon footprint
What is offsetting?
“the action or process of compensating for carbon dioxide emissions arising from (…) human activity, by participating in schemes designed to make equivalent reductions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”
Why is offsetting your carbon footprint important?
Offsetting your carbon footprint gives you the opportunity to become completely climate neutral without having to make all of your actions zero emissions. It is not realistically possible to live without emitting any emissions at all, so offsetting what you cannot reduce is important.
Special tips
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Sometimes you can tick a box before you check out to offset the CO2 that you would emit with that product – like a flight.
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Keep an eye out for climate neutral products – this means that all the emissions emitted for the production of this item have been offset by investing in certain sustainable projects.
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These projects can be: reforestation, environmental conservation, energy efficiency or renewable energy.
Easy to do
You don’t always need a giant leap to achieve change. The important thing is to start, see successes and keep going. Here are three brief tips to get beyond the Change Clubs.
Support a climate/environmental initiative by other organisations and/or recommend it to friends
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Attend rallies, marches and events that promote climate awareness and action.
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Share your experiences with friends and encourage them to participate as well.
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Use social media platforms to amplify climate-related messages.
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Donate to reputable climate organisations working on solution, research, and advocacy. Encourage your friends to contribute as well.
Exercise your political rights
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Participate in politics and be active in your community.
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Check what political parties propose as climate action measures.
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Go vote.
Get your kids on board
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Teach your kids about climate change in a fun way – films are good for kids.
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Go to demonstrations with them (like FFF).
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Lead by example. Be a role model by living a sustainable lifestyle.
Fun Tips
For all the good reasons: Fun is the greatest motivator! And should never be neglected.
Here are some ideas. Surely, you can think of many more in your Change Club.
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Start your own Change Club!
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Volunteer for a conservation or sustainability project → you could go wwoofing for your holiday
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Have a “Green” book club: Read climate related books and have discussions about how to reduce your environmental footprint.
Additional media:
Films:
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Wall-E.
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Don´t look up.
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My Octopus Teacher.
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
Documentaries:
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The Blue Planet with David Attenborough.
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An Inconvenient Truth.
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An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power.
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Seaspiracy.
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Blackfish.
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Cowspiracy.
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Kiss the Ground.
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The Biggest Little Farm.
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Anthropocene: The Human Epoch.
Podcasts:
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Outrage & Optimism.
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Sustainababble.
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A Matter of Degrees.
SDGs
Taking action and going beyond is addressing climate change. In addition, it can contribute to significantly the achieving other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including these ones:
Click on each goal to learn more.
Library & Resources
External Articles & News
Back to all modules
We must change how we live. Not only in politics and the economy, but also personally. Doing it alone is difficult. That is why I suggest creating Clubs, in which people can learn from each other and help one another to change their lives. There one would get recommendations for delicious vegetarian recipes, fairly traded textile brands, some would share their experiences with carsharing, others about how to grow vegetables on your roof, another would know a great way to reuse rainwater, and so on. The Clubs would work following the Weight Watchers principles: Motivation and exchange of experiences. Working title: Change Clubs. If you would like to help this project see the light of day, contact me.