More Details for Project Drawdown’s 100 Items
If you scroll down, I have pasted the reorganized Project Drawdown list and am adding between 1 to 10 details to quickly and easily find ways to understand and/or apply these.
What is really needed next is to create info sheets for the full 8 billion…
e.g. “If you are a person (i.e. everyone), please consider these options”
“If you are a farmer, please consider these options”
“If you like protecting nature, please consider these options”
“If you are a science or industry person, please consider these options”
If there were really creative ways to create information sheets for the most important items online, especially
information sheets summarizing all e.g. farming options, and
information sheets for how to apply these and what the specific problems are with these that need to be really attractive to %s of solutions (e.g. how do you make clean cooking cheaper/safer for the poorest)
And the idea being the whole world would know which of the 8 categories they belong to (e.g. farmer, protecting nature, science or industry person), which of the items to apply, and to advocate for 1+ of the 8 areas (i.e. the overall information sheets) at a time
You would then need to choose up to 40 per month to have as potential goals or %s. You also don’t need to find all 40 at once, you can add to e.g. 4 or 7 or 10 at a time (just make sure to add some impossible ones to add %s to)…
And the main idea is to try to complete an average of 10 per month (month), and to keep trying with %s for the advocacy ones early (including getting the whole 8 billion to help, and anything the world achieves, you can count as one of your 10).
How do you do this? A really good starting place is the 7+7 small sustainability efforts per week. A small effort is any effort, starting from 2 seconds e.g. reading a hard paragraph or trying to solve a % of a personal sustainability problem, and going to potentially 10 minutes- whatever you >>> choose and are motivated to do at the time… luckily it gets really interesting really quickly. What do I do as a small effort? Sometimes it is literally 4 seconds, sometimes it is a couple of minutes, sometimes it several pages. The main thing here is that you yourself choose, based on your level of motivation and interest. You can spend 5 minutes on 14 small efforts if you’re not into it… or you can spend more if you choose to. However, to remember that this isn’t development time, so to think about all your various factors. I might spend 1 hour, 1.5 hours or 2 hours on this per week, depending on all factors. The most important thing is regular effort, especially around advocacy, personal habits, solving personal problems (e.g. how to make things cheap enough for you, even if you’re poor and it takes most of your 14 small efforts- this counts) and making this a worldwide thing. And if you want to do more, to add to each week backwards from 2100, with the idea being that when they meet up, sustainability is thoroughly solved (so its like gamifying it & making it fun)
Also, out of the short list of 40 per month (which makes it a lot less overwhelming), you could also potentially choose less options to focus on for each week for two weeks, which could be really helpful for some people, having a more specific list to add %s to. And having more means that if you get stuck on one, you can just add a % to another.
Remembering that the world advocacy ones (e.g. eating a more plant rich diet with less meat), will be the hardest, because they need all 8 billion, and this needs to be mindful of when different groups can actually afford it). So to start with the advocacy ones sooner, even if they take ages. But the good thing is, if someone else achieves a world advocacy one, you can count it as one of your 10 per month.
If all 8 billion achieve only 10 per month, this means that the full list will be achieved by >>> 2026 (would you believe it… by 2026). It’s kind of incredible, isn’t it…
However, this all strongly relies on the tipping points being prevented (which is part of the 400 below), which will accelerate things hugely. So %s for them are the most important thing. But by 2026, can you believe it… this is amazing.
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Table of Contents
(from https://www.unep.org/interactive/six-sector-solution-climate-change, from all the Tipping Point %s,
from https://drawdown.org/solutions/table-of-solutions, from the world of technical people’s % solutions)
Really Important:
Any ways to get the 8 billion to keep adding %s to the methods to prevent high risk tipping points, without scaring people too much (but really motivating) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipping_points_in_the_climate_system)
Anything you can do to help the world of technical people interested in %s of solutions to hugely make climate change solutions cheaper for the poorest 4 billion, so that can make up for how the poorest 4 billion will be wealthier by 2050 (and the world will have 2 billion extra people) and will be need a lot more energy not only for fuel but for products and food.
So the rapidly speeding up climate change tech solutions is for making up for the increased energy needs of the poorest 4 billion by 2050, which is an extremely strong >>> ethical and moral right.
Project Drawdown’s Solutions for 2050
Any %s you can do to help understand or safely advocate for %s of the 8 billion people to apply the 100-200 best solutions.
This website is one of the most helpful out there: https://drawdown.org/solutions/table-of-solutions, and I have reorganized and summarised a lot of the advocacy areas below.
o Together with Preventing Tipping Points, this section is the most important… Adding the 100 from here to advocate for worldwide would be incredibly helpful & each % helps to move it forward… the best way to protect your mental health is to create allocated times and to create boundaries around these.
o If the 2025 to 2030 Tipping Points get too close, then the largest 20 from here are a good point- however all of the 100 will need to be applied as soon as it they become cheap enough for the world’s poorest 5.5 billion, and to be applied by the world’s wealthiest 1%, 5%, 10% sooner than that (remembering that some people in wealthier societies are wealthier compared to the world but are poor in their own societies)
o If there was any way to create a monthly numerical estimate of how far away the world was from each tipping point (or at the very least for the 2025 and 2030 tipping point goals), and what numbers you can compare to these (e.g. if __ tons were left and the best activities for that month had __ tons, this would be incredibly helpful, especially if everyone knew where this was)
o It would also be really helpful if there was a second 100 created because some of these won’t happen- e.g. the largest solution of Onshore Wind Turbines probably won’t happen because they’re too loud
The Six Sector Solution for the 2030 Tipping Points:
4,5,6 Personal habits to figure out, government list for your country (only if safe), business list within your current business
7,8,9 Civilian list for worldwide advocacy for the 8 billion (but only if it’s safe, and to be implemented when it’s affordable enough), government list for all countries (but only if it’s safe), Business & Industry list for the 8 billion (but only if it’s safe, and to be implemented when it’s affordable enough)
10 Any other recommended readings that you think could help- e.g. 35 recommended optional readings from the Six Sector Solution
This totals about 400 items. If you find 40 potential ones each month, prioritize some to have a look at each week, work on the advocacy ones early,
and achieve just 10 per month, this will mean that all 400 will be achieved in three years and four months… or before the end of >>>2027. It almost feels unbelievable. It needs the 8 billion to keep being encouraged to do this though (achieve 10 per month, short list up to 40 per month, and add %s to 8 billion advocacy ones).
However, this also needs %s worldwide regularly safely and ethically encouraged to constantly keep preventing tipping points… i.e. if you regularly asked the full 8 billion (without scaring them too much) to find out what was needed to be done to prevent the tipping points and to ask the full 8 billion to regularly prioritise this as part of their development time.
This is the number one development area and would be an incredible achievement that would help 4 billion people… and remember that climate change disasters increased 5 times with the last 1.5 degree increase (and we’re dealing with way more tipping points this time). This will help almost half of the world population with climate change problems- especially around food and the impacts of climate change disasters.
Out of the millions of development goals in the world, this one is right near the very top of the list, because it affects the most people in the most ways. Highlighting 40 per month, highlighting some of these, and trying to reach 10 per month- even if you fail- would be a really excellent way to use some or even most of your sustainability 7+7 per week (which is really easy to do).
It would also mean your children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren would know that you were the generation that could do something about it and that you did do something about it. And you yourself will probably be witnessing more climate change disasters in your own time.
But the handwritten sustainability 7+7 small efforts per week is too easy to do… and it gets really interesting really quickly. A small effort isn’t a %… it’s literally a small effort… it can be several minutes but if you can only do 4 seconds, that counts too. It all adds up to saving the world with climate change. Just to be mindful of trackers, and to be careful.
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More Details for Project Drawdown’s 100 Items
If you scroll down, I have pasted the reorganized Project Drawdown list and am adding between 1 to 10 details to quickly and easily find ways to understand and/or apply these.
Project Drawdown’s 100 Priorities for Advocacy (where it’s safe enough)
Project Drawdown’s website is incredibly useful: https://drawdown.org/solutions/table-of-solutions
And so is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipping_points_in_the_climate_system
I organized the 100 Project Drawdown priorities into about 12 categories below, and ordered them from largest to smallest within their categories. This creates a plan for a 1.5 degree warmer climate, with the #1 most important priority being adding %s to >>> prevent all the tipping points before they happen (e.g. during allocated times). You would then pick a category or categories and understand/advocate for these.
Some of the 100 topics won’t be partly or fully achievable (e.g. I think that onshore wind farms won’t be achievable, because they’re too loud), so if there was a 2nd list of 100 areas from Project Drawdown (in case some of the first 100 can’t be reached), this would be incredibly helpful.
However, this is a really wonderful resource and is so highly recommended.
If you were going to pick 40 potential climate change areas per month and try to achieve 10 per month (month) (even if you fail, to really try), the Project Drawdown areas seem a lot harder to achieve, because it’s advocacy for the world.
Therefore, the best way could be to pick 10 areas you think you could achieve (e.g. with the 7+7 small efforts), but to also regularly add in advocacy areas to the 40 so you can keep thinking about %s… if you can get the whole 8 billion to regularly advocate for these- with the idea that each billion go for them when they get cheap enough for that billion- then the whole world could work together to get this to happen as soon as possible… And if you don’t work on an advocacy area but the world achieves it, you can count it as one of your 10.
Some of the areas above and below and try to create %s to understand what is needed a bit better, try to advocate for them (or make them easier to understand and remember) if there are opportunities and/or try to add %s. This could mean reading about them, trying to clarify them and explain them, trying to advocate for them, and trying to add %s for how to make some as popularized and as cheap as they can be worldwide.
If some of the first 100 fail (for example, I think that Onshore Wind Turbines will fail because they’re too loud), what could the 2nd 100 be, just in case? And what are ways to make some or all of these cheaper?
The good thing about these is that once you start adding short explanations, a lot of them are actually quite similar in how to apply them, but with a few modifications.
I highlighted larger ones with this: *** for 2025. However, all 100 of these need to be implemented worldwide when they get cheap enough
Things that you could do include putting this in a Word document and using Title 1 and Title 2s to create dropdowns for everything, adding 1-10 notes in dropdowns, of what is most important for the world to know about these (e.g. 2 or 4 or 7 dot points), figuring out what types of people might need to be advocated to or doing ripples outwards (e.g. to try and reach people who might know farmers- apparently we’re all connected by 7 degrees), any %s you can think of to help move it forward and achieve it by 2025 and 2030.
If you were doing 7+7 small efforts for sustainability per week, adding a note or a few notes could potentially be an easy way to do this (although some efforts might not result in any notes).
So the question is how advocacy for groups of these would work (e.g. with short explanations of what they are), and how to attract %s to make them cheap enough for the poorest 4 billion.
These Are The Newest Categories I Created and Grouped Together
Are you a person? 7
Are you considering solar energy? 5
Are you thinking about other energy types? 12
Do you like protecting nature? 11
Do you like protecting the sea? 5
Are you a science or industry person? How do you add %s to make these really cheap/ safe… 9
Are you a science or industry person? How do you make vehicle types cheaper and safer for the 8 billion? And uptake of these versus non renewable energy/ energy efficient transport types? 8
Are you a farmer? For all farmers of animals… 5
Are you a farmer? For all farmers of crops… 8
Are you thinking about building? Are you a builder, potential home building improver, potential business building improver, city and town builders, some public infrastructure… Improving buildings, new buildings, infrastructure… 19
Are you a person? For people:
1. Preventing Tipping Points ***
1. Plant-Rich Diets 103.11 ***
2. Reduced Food Waste 102.20 ***
3. Clean Cooking 76.34 ***
1. Family Planning and Education 68.90 ***
1. Carpooling 11.07
2. Telepresence 4.43
Details
1. Preventing Tipping Points ***
How would you do this? It would be figuring out some of the main factors leading up to it and adding %s somehow, plus asking the whole world to keep adding %s to prevent them… and for anything that has medium high risks…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipping_points_in_the_climate_system
Therefore, %s to help to prevent any of the high risk tipping points
At first, it seems a bit impossible… but if the 8 billion does a few hours of development work per week, this is a lot of people, and it becomes increasingly possible to prevent.
How would you prevent these though? Each month you would get more advanced in figuring it out…
It would probably be a list with researched ways to prevent each one, and talking or writing about it often enough.
Month one you would probably not know, month two you would have a good idea of what, month three you would have a good idea of how, and month four you would probably have a good idea of how to make it more effective or efficient (e.g. if you spent 10 minutes per week on this one)… and people would share information and develop together, so the understanding and methods for these will hopefully keep improving too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipping_points_in_the_climate_system
1. Plant-Rich Diets 103.11 ***
Plant-rich diets hold enormous potential for climate change mitigation if adopted on a global scale. They also tend to be healthier. A plant-rich diet can be adopted incrementally with small behavioral changes that together lead to globally significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. This also includes purchasing locally produced food when available. In terms of cost, the solution appears to yield significant savings at the individual level. Plant-based options must be available, visible, and enticing. Also, ending price-distorting government subsidies so the prices of animal protein more accurately reflect their true cost.
2. Reduced Food Waste 102.20 ***
Roughly one-third of all food produced worldwide is wasted. Where income is low, waste is generally unintentional and occurs on farms or during storage or distribution. In regions of higher income, food waste dominates further along the supply chain. Retailers and consumers reject food based on bumps, bruises, and coloring, or simply order, buy, and serve too much.
When food is wasted, all the energy, resources, and money that went into producing, processing, packaging, and transporting it are wasted, too.
Producing uneaten food squanders a whole host of resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital—and generates climate change at every stage. The food we waste is responsible for roughly 8 percent of global emissions.
3. Clean Cooking 76.34 ***
Project Drawdown’s Clean Cooking solution involves the use of solar-powered or fuel-burning household stoves that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing thermal efficiency or ventilation. This solution replaces traditional cookstoves that burn wood and/or charcoal inefficiently and without ventilation. What are %s to make this as cheap as possible as quickly as possible, so the full 8 billion can afford to do this?
Clean cookstoves raise cooking operating costs by US$1.96–4.38 trillion over the stove lifetime because many families collect fuel for free (albeit with heavy labor costs, particularly for women and girls) and/or polluting fuels are cheaper than cleaner options, but the adverse socioeconomic impacts of not using clean cooking fuels are high. According to the World Bank (Energy Sector Management Assistance Program, 2020), the negative impacts of solid fuel cooking on the environment, public health, and gender equality is US$2.4 trillion annually.
If policies for promoting clean cooking worldwide are aggressively implemented, guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goal of universal access to clean energy, carbon dioxide equivalent emissions can be reduced by 31.38–76.34 gigatons at a net first cost of US$136.64–302.76 billion. However, what are %s to make this as cheap as possible as quickly as possible, so the full 8 billion can afford to do this?
1. Family Planning and Education 68.90 ***
Universal, high quality access to quality education for all children, and access to voluntary family planning services for women, girls, and couples, are essential human rights and cornerstones of gender equality. Family planning generates numerous benefits for maternal and child health, nutrition, and economic development, and contributes to gender equality, climate adaptation, and resilience.
Slower global population growth, a cascading outcome of increased family planning and rising education levels, contributes to reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, as fertility levels change due in part to increased uptake of voluntary family planning and rising education levels, population growth slows, with cascading benefits for the health and well-being of people and the planet.
Increased knowledge about, access to, and quality of voluntary family planning, and 12 years of high-quality education, are essential to achieving the UN’s 2019 medium global population projection of 9.7 billion people by 2050. We model the global impact of this population scenario, which includes increased uptake of family planning and rising education levels (and therefore lower fertility), on energy, building space, food waste, and transportation demand versus the status quo.
When women can control contraception and number of children, this means that children are more educated, are more likely to problem solve higher income, are more likely to finish school, are more likely to be advanced mentally, are more likely to develop their societies further, are more likely to have better health, This also means that women can contribute their often different skills to furthering a society and country. For climate change, this means less pressure on the world’s food and resources. A smaller population- through birth control- please- means higher human capital per person, and also means improved results for climate change and sustainability.
Fostering equality through this solution could reduce carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by nearly 70 gigatons between 2020 and 2050.
1. Carpooling 11.07
When people share rides in passenger vehicles through ride-sharing or similar practices, they can reduce greenhouse gas emissions per traveler. Project Drawdown defines its Carpooling solution as sharing car trips by adding more passengers in order to reduce individual or societal costs per traveler. This includes all interpretations and implementations that increase vehicle occupancy for any car-based mobility (e.g. commuter carpooling, high-occupancy vehicle lanes, dynamic ridesharing, etc.)
2. Telepresence | Project Drawdown 4.43
By using Zoom, Skype or Immersive Rooms like what Meta is currently working on, this means that less long-distance and medium-distance travel is needed, because people can have the same effect through their computer or through virtual rooms.
Are you thinking about solar energy?
1. Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaics 111.59 ***
2. Utility-Scale Energy Storage
3. Distributed Solar Photovoltaics 64.86 ***
5. Concentrated Solar Power 21.51 ***
Details
1. Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaics 111.59 ***
Solar photovoltaics can be used at “utility-scale” e.g. hundreds or thousands of panels on for-profit, government-run, or government-contract solar farms, to replace fossil-fuel electricity generation. Utility-scale solar photovoltaics (PVs) use large arrays of PV panels to capture solar energy and transform it to electricity.
2. Utility-Scale Energy Storage
Large-scale energy storage ensures electricity supply can match demand. Energy storage makes it possible to use power generated at a time other than when it is consumed. Moreover, storage makes the power system more resilient, reducing outages and aiding in emergency preparedness. Some 95 percent of the current capacity is composed of pumped hydroelectric technology, with more than 350 large projects installed worldwide. The primary use of energy storage at present is power arbitrage (time shift): pumped hydropower facilities buy electricity at night when prices are low and use it to pump water from a low reservoir to an elevated one. During the day, when prices are high, the stored water is allowed to run downhill through turbines, generating electricity that can then be sold back to the grid. The remaining energy storage is used to enable penetration of variable renewable generation sources.
3. Distributed Solar Photovoltaics 64.86 ***
Distributed solar photovoltaics (PV) are systems that typically are sited on rooftops, but have less than 1 megawatt of capacity. Whether grid-connected or part of stand-alone systems, rooftop solar panels and other distributed solar photovoltaic systems offer hyper-local electricity generation, and can even sell energy back to the main grid, earning the owner a profit from this- or at least strong decreasing energy bills over time. A quick way of thinking of these are that they are solar panels on each building.
Most previous adoption scenarios predicted that PV (both rooftop and utility scale) would generate less than 10 percent of electricity by 2050. However, with rapid recent adoption of solar PV in many countries, increasing solar cell efficiencies, and rapidly declining costs, some recent scenarios have predicted that almost 60 percent of global electricity could come from solar PV by 2050. And it can be profitable- or at least decrease your energy bills a large amount.
Standalone batteries and electric vehicles store energy. They can enable 24/7 electricity supply even when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. There are two basic sources of small-scale storage: stand-alone batteries and electric vehicles. This solution replaces the conventional practice of obtaining all electricity from a centralized grid. It can allow residential and commercial buildings to act as participants in the electricity distribution system and to store energy. It can allow consumers to use electricity at times and rates of their choosing, avoiding steep charges for consumption at peak times or when demand spikes.
5. Concentrated Solar Power 21.51 ***
Concentrated solar power (CSP) is a technology that uses heat from the sun concentrated on a small area with mirrors to generate steam that turns turbines to produce electricity. Though parabolic trough collectors is the oldest and most widespread CSP technology, tower technology is the most likely to gain traction, since it is the most economically viable technology that also incorporates storage—an increasing requirement of CSP. Concentrated solar power generated 0.05 percent of the world’s electricity in 2018, but could rise to 8–6 percent of world electricity generation by 2050.
Are you thinking about other energy types?
1. Onshore Wind Turbines 143.56 *** I don’t know about this- aren’t they really loud?
2. Offshore Wind Turbines 9.89
3. Geothermal Power 9.17
4. Methane Digesters 7.05
5. Waste to Energy 5.24
6. Methane Leak Management 4.50
7. Nuclear Power 3.64
8. Biomass Power 3.59
9. Small Hydropower 3.21
10. Micro Wind Turbines 0.11
11. Ocean Power 0.80
12. Landfill Methane Capture -1.48
Details
Smarter, more flexible electric grids can cut energy losses. They also are critical to mainstreaming renewables, which are more variable than conventional energy sources. The grid was designed for constant, centralized power production, not for the variability of solar and wind power. For electricity supply to become predominantly or entirely renewable, the grid needs to become more flexible and adaptable than it is today (e.g. including the technologies listed within here). Where the grid spans larger geographies and more electricity sources, it can essentially even out the total output of renewables, reducing extremes in variability.
1. Onshore Wind Turbines 143.56 *** I don’t know about this- aren’t they really loud?
I don’t think this will happen, and this is the largest one in the 100- onshore wind turbines are too loud for most areas. It would be really highly recommended if there was a 2nd list of 100 climate change actions to add to the first list of 100 climate actions, to make up for any of the first 100 that won’t be able to be achieved. Because this is the largest one on this list, it is likely that a 2nd list of 100 will be really needed.
2. Offshore Wind Turbines 9.89
This could definitely happen, if the locations were in places that weren’t really ecologically important (e.g. where there was a lot of biodiversity, because undersea animals could change location from the noise). So it would be a really excellent idea to hire local environment specialists to figure out what offshore locations were ecologically safer to place offshore wind farms.
3. Geothermal Power 9.17
4. Methane Digesters 7.05
5. Waste to Energy 5.24
6. Methane Leak Management 4.50
7. Nuclear Power 3.64
8. Biomass Power 3.59
9. Small Hydropower 3.21
10. Micro Wind Turbines 0.11
11. Ocean Power 0.80
12. Landfill Methane Capture -1.48
Do you like protecting nature?
1. Tropical Forest Restoration 85.14 ***
2. Peatland Protection and Rewetting 40.27 ***
3. Tree Plantations (on Degraded Land) 35.09 ***
4. Temperate Forest Restoration 27.85 ***
5. Abandoned Farmland Restoration 20.32 ***
6. Indigenous Peoples’ Forest Tenure 12.51 ***
7. Forest Protection 8.83
8. Grassland Protection 4.25
9. Biochar Production 3.00
10. Coastal Wetland Protection 1.62
11. Coastal Wetland Restoration 1.00
Details
Forests
1. Tropical Forest Restoration 85.14 ***
In recent decades, tropical forests have suffered extensive clearing, fragmentation, degradation, and depletion of biodiversity. Tropical forest trees, other vegetation, soil, and leaf litter absorb and hold carbon, and restoring these forests restores their ability to sequester carbon. Restoration is widely considered to offer substantial climate change mitigation opportunities, if conducted at large scales.
The specific mechanics of restoration vary. The simplest scenario is to release land from nonforest use, such as growing crops or damming a valley, and let a young forest rise up on its own. Protective measures can keep pressures such as fire, erosion, or grazing at bay. Other techniques are more intensive, such as cultivating and planting native seedlings and removing invasive species to accelerate natural ecological processes. Tropical forest regrowth is often rapid, resulting in impressive rates of carbon sequestration.
The Tropical Forest Restoration solution models natural regeneration of tropical forests on degraded lands. This has the benefit of low cost. We assume that forest regrowth will be legally protected so it will not be cleared or degraded again.
2. Temperate Forest Restoration 27.85 ***
Temperate forests are a net carbon sink, typically containing roughly 100 metric tons of carbon per hectare. Over the course of history, 99 percent have been altered in some way—harvested, converted to agriculture. According to the World Resources Institute, more than 1.4 billion acres are candidates for restoration.
Restoring degraded and deforested temperate lands to forest can offer substantial climate change mitigation opportunities. Temperate forest regrowth is often rapid and results in impressive rates of carbon sequestration.
This solution replaces degraded forest. It assumes that the restored land is legally protected from deforestation so it will not be cleared or degraded again.
3. Indigenous Peoples’ Forest Tenure 12.51 ***
Indigenous peoples have long been the frontline of resistance against deforestation; mineral, oil, and gas extraction; and the expansion of monocrop plantations.
Their resistance prevents land-based carbon emissions, and maintains or increases carbon sequestration. Increasing the amount of land under secure Indigenous land tenure can increase carbon stocks and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation.
Secure land tenure protects Indigenous peoples’ rights. With sovereignty, traditional practices can continue—in turn protecting ecosystems and carbon sinks and preventing emissions from deforestation. The Indigenous Peoples’ Forest Tenure solution has highly desirable human rights co-benefits, leading Project Drawdown to prioritize it for forestlands wherever possible.
Secure tenure that makes it possible for Indigenous peoples and local communities to manage their forestlands results in carbon benefits in the form of reduced emissions from deforestation and continued carbon sequestration. It can be seen as a form of productive forest protection, given sustainable management and utilization of forest products.
4. Forest Protection 8.83
Project Drawdown’s Forest Protection solution involves the legal protection of forestlands leading to reduced deforestation rates and safeguarding of carbon sinks. We assume forest protection primarily happens at the governmental and NGO level.
Mature, healthy forests have spent decades or centuries accumulating carbon through photosynthesis and storing it in soils and biomass. Today forests are rapidly being cleared and degraded, releasing this stored carbon loss and reducing forests’ ability to provide habitat, control erosion, build soil, regulate water quality and supply, and remove air pollution.
In their biomass and soil, forests are powerful carbon storehouses. Protection prevents emissions from deforestation, shields stored carbon, and enables ongoing carbon sequestration. Emissions from tropical deforestation and forest degradation alone today are estimated at 5.1–8.4 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year- a staggering 14–21 percent of human emissions. Forest protection could reduce these emissions by 5.56–8.83 gigatons by 2050.
Natural Environments
1. Peatland Protection and Rewetting 40.27 ***
Peatlands hold vast amounts of carbon. Forestry, farming, fire, and fuel extraction release carbon and reduce peatlands’ ability to store more. Protection and rewetting can reduce emissions while supporting peatlands’ role as carbon sinks.
Although peatlands cover just three percent of Earth’s land area, they are second only to oceans in the amount of carbon they store- twice that held by the world’s forests, at an estimated 500 to 600 gigatons. Unlike most terrestrial ecosystems, peatlands do not reach saturation, and continue sequestering carbon in soil organic matter for centuries or millennia.
Peatlands are being degraded for agricultural, horticultural, forest, fuel, and infrastructure and by fire at a rate of 0.4 million hectares per year. Moreover, peat volume is decreasing by 20 cubic kilometers per year. Peatland degradation results in nearly 3 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year, equivalent to more than 10 percent of global fossil fuel emissions.
If we increase the total area of protected or rewetted peatlands from 8.84 million hectares to 302.69–491.21 million hectares, we can avoid some 25.40–40.27 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.
2. Tree Plantations (on Degraded Land) 35.09 ***
Degraded lands present potential locations for tree plantations. Managed well, they can restore soil, sequester carbon, and produce wood resources in a more sustainable way. Trees also create a carbon sink, drawing in and holding on to carbon and distributing it into the soil. Project Drawdown’s Tree Plantations (on Degraded Land) solution involves the cultivation of trees for timber or other biomass uses on degraded land. Greenhouse gases are sequestered in soils, biomass, and timber.
Tree plantation on degraded land has been widely promoted as a land-based climate change mitigation strategy due in part to its high greenhouse gas sequestration rates. Our scenarios are more modest than many. This is because we give other tree-focused solutions with high sequestration rates higher priority, including Tree Intercropping, Silvopasture, Multistrata Agroforestry, Perennial Staple Crops, Tropical Forest Restoration, and Temperate Forest Restoration. Nonetheless, tree plantation on degraded land is of critical importance for mitigation, building material, and restoration of degraded lands.
3. Abandoned Farmland Restoration 20.32 ***
Restoring degraded lands to productivity can improve food security, farmers’ livelihoods, ecosystem health, and carbon sequestration. It can also reduce emissions by reducing deforestation. This model looks only at agricultural restoration, though abandoned farmland can also be restored to forests and other ecosystems.
Worldwide, millions of hectares of farmland and grazing land have been abandoned due to land degradation. The causes include damaging agricultural practices, desertification, lack of market access, migration, higher cost of cultivation, lower productivity gains. The loss of agricultural productivity poses a serious threat to food security. By releasing carbon from soil and biomass, degradation also increases greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.
The Abandoned Farmland Restoration solution is a set of processes for restoring degraded, abandoned land to a productive, carbon-sequestering state. This solution replaces the conventional practice of abandoning degraded grassland. We project that by 2050, 189.51–296.12 million hectares could be restored and converted to regenerative annual cropping or other productive, carbon-friendly farming systems, reducing carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 12.48–20.32 gigatons.
This solution could provide a lifetime net profit of US$2.66–4.34 trillion with an initial investment of US$98.16–159.91 billion and lifetime net operational cost of US$3.24–5.27 trillion, while producing an additional 9.2–15 billion metric tons of food.
Given the urgency of preventing emissions from deforestation and increased global food demand, abandoned farmland restoration is highly desirable. Its impressive carbon sequestration potential, along with these co-benefits, makes it an essential climate solution.
4. Grassland Protection 4.25
Grasslands hold large stocks of carbon, largely underground. Protecting them shields this carbon and avoids emissions from conversion to agriculture or development.
Grasslands also protect biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services.
Project Drawdown’s Grassland Protection solution involves the legal protection of natural, un-grazed grasslands from future grazing and/or conversion to croplands. Grasslands are often converted to agriculture and are at high risk of future land use change and greenhouse gas emissions from loss of carbon stocks. Grasslands are also targeted for afforestation.
Protection reduces land use change and safeguards carbon sinks. We assumed that grassland protection primarily happens at the government and nongovernmental organization (NGO) level. This solution replaces unprotected grassland.
5. Biochar Production 3.00
Biochar is a carbon-rich, highly stable soil amendment. When biomass decomposes, carbon and methane escape into the atmosphere. Biochar retains most of the carbon. Applying biochar to soils can reduce other soil greenhouse gas emissions (though this emissions reduction impact is not modeled in this study). In infertile soils, biochar can reduce loss of nutrients through leaching.
Biochar Production involves tapping this process to produce energy, improve soils, and store carbon. This solution provides an alternative to disposing of unused biomass through burning or decomposition.
6. Coastal Wetland Protection 1.62
Unlike most terrestrial ecosystems, coastal wetlands—salt marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses—can sequester carbon for centuries without becoming saturated. In fact, coastal wetlands can store five times as much carbon as tropical forests over the long term, mostly in deep wetland soils. As a result, they have accumulated vast stores of carbon, making their greenhouse gas mitigation potential high despite their small area. Preserving healthy coastal wetlands is an important climate change mitigation strategy.
Project Drawdown’s Coastal Wetland Protection solution involves the legal protection of carbon-rich mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes, reducing degradation rates and safeguarding carbon sinks. This solution secures otherwise vulnerable coastal wetlands whose destruction would be a source of greenhouse gases. This solution replaces unprotected coastal wetlands. If an additional 36.37–40.45 million hectares are protected against degradation by 2050, the resulting avoided emissions and continued sequestration could be equivalent to 1.20–1.62 gigatons of carbon dioxide. While limited in area, coastal wetlands already sequester massive amounts of carbon; protecting them would ensure that the estimated 10.6–12.1 gigatons of carbon stored there, equivalent to more than 38.9–44.4 gigatons of carbon dioxide if released into the atmosphere, would remain safely stored.
7. Coastal Wetland Restoration 1.00
Agriculture, development, and natural disasters have degraded many coastal wetlands. Restoring mangrove forests, salt marshes, and seagrass beds to health revives carbon sequestration.
Unlike most terrestrial ecosystems, coastal wetlands—salt marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses—can continue sequestering carbon for centuries without becoming saturated. In fact, coastal wetlands can store five times as much carbon as tropical forests over the long term, mostly in deep wetland soils. As a result, they have accumulated vast stores of carbon, making their greenhouse gas mitigation potential high despite their small area. Coastal wetlands also provide important ecosystem services. Disturbance of coastal wetlands contributes an estimated 1–10 percent of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
Project Drawdown’s Coastal Wetland Restoration solution involves the use of processes that seek to restore coastal wetlands (including mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes) to prior conditions, whether naturally or through human intervention. It replaces the practice of allowing degraded coastlines to remain degraded.
Do you like protecting the sea?
1. Seafloor Protection 5.14
2. Seaweed Farming 4.72
3. Macroalgae Protection and Restoration 3.78
4. Improved Fisheries 1.54
5. Improved Aquaculture 0.78
Details
Oceans and Seas
1. Seafloor Protection 5.14
Project Drawdown’s Seafloor Protection solution involves the legal protection of the seafloor, which contains sediments high in organic carbon, from disturbance by bottom-trawling fishing. Bottom trawling disturbs the sediments, leading to the release of carbon stored in these sediments. It also harms benthic habitat, communities, and fish. Yet it contributes less than 0.5 percent to global fisheries landings. Several jurisdictions already have banned bottom trawling. Moreover, every year government agencies are establishing more MPAs and making more commitments to sustainably manage ocean resources.
2. Seaweed Farming 4.72
Seaweed farming is one of the most sustainable types of aquaculture. Expanding seaweed farming enhances carbon sequestration and boosts production of biomass that can be used for biofuel, bioplastic, livestock feed, and human consumption.
Macroalgae are fast-growing marine plants that absorb high amounts of carbon dioxide. They are among the most productive organisms on Earth. Recent findings have quantified the long-term carbon sequestration potential of macroalgae at 0.17 gigatons of carbon per year, exceeding the carbon buried in coastal environments such as mangroves, saltmarshes, and seagrass beds (111–131 gigatons of carbon per year).
Project Drawdown defines its Seaweed Farming solution as the culturing and cultivation of macroalgae in the ocean for long-term carbon sequestration in the form of excess unharvested biomass that is exported to the deep sea and/or ocean shelves and buried in ocean sediments. We assume this solution will be deployed in ocean areas that do not have alternative uses. Macroalgae aquaculture comprises 27 percent of total marine aquaculture production and is currently valued at 5 percent of the total value of aquaculture crops.
3. Macroalgae Protection and Restoration 3.78
Macroalgae are fast-growing marine plants and store high amounts of carbon. Although the ability of macroalgae to store substantial amounts of carbon for long periods of time remains in question, some have quantified the long- term carbon sequestration potential of macroalgae at 0.17 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, exceeding the carbon buried in coastal angiosperm environments, such as mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass beds (0.11–0.13 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year). Macroalgae forests also provide habitat for fish and invertebrates.
Project Drawdown defines the Macroalgae Protection and Restoration solution as the legal protection of wild macroalgae forest ecosystems and processes or programs designed to return degraded wild macroalgae forest ecosystems to a healthy state. We assume the solution will be deployed in ocean areas that do not have alternative uses, including the protection of intact ecosystems.
Globally, the area covered by macroalgae is decreasing 1.8 percent annually due to a combination of factors related to anthropogenic activity and climate warming. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and management actions such as protecting predators, minimizing harvest, and reducing eutrophication due to runoff can improve macroalgae forests’ resistance and resilience to climate change. Active restoration programs are also known to be successful, and more restoration sites are emerging worldwide.
4. Improved Fisheries 1.54
Wild-capture fisheries generate carbon emissions due to fuel use of fishing vessels, reduce carbon storage in fish, and reduce carbon sequestration in ocean sediments by disturbing them with bottom trawls.
Project Drawdown’s Improve Fisheries solution involves reforming and improving the management of, and eliminating inappropriate subsidies related to, wild-capture fisheries to reduce excess effort, and overfishing. This solution reduces the number of vessel-days and allows depleted fish stocks to rebuild to a level that allows fish population to regrow and be sustainably maintained over time. This in turn reduces fuel use, increases carbon sequestration in dead fish, and sustains catch in the long term.
Optimal management could improve fuel efficiency of fisheries 44 percent, increase fish biomass up to sustainable levels across fisheries, and boost catch up to 15 percent. Several countries have recently made significant progress identifying and addressing overcapitalization and overfishing. Technological advances, increasing demand for transparency, and international cooperation have the potential to further advance the sustainable management of fishery resources.
5. Improved Aquaculture 0.78
Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing animal food sectors. Since 2014, aquaculture has provided more fish for human consumption than capture fisheries have; by 2030, aquaculture is expected to provide about 59 percent of the fish available for human consumption.
Because some aquaculture systems are highly energy intensive, ensuring part of the on-site energy consumption is based on renewable resources would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Depending on the farmed species and farm type, aquaculture may be one of the most energy-intensive food production systems. Emissions from crop feed material production, fishmeal production, feed blending, and transport account for 57 percent of global aquaculture greenhouse gas emissions. The rest of emissions arise from nitrification and denitrification of nitrogenous compounds and on-farm energy use (e.g., pumping water, lighting, and vehicle use).
Project Drawdown’s Improved Aquaculture solution involves shifting generators used in animal aquaculture from diesel and petrol-based to hybrid systems that are partly based on renewable energy resources. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from on-site energy use. Because this sector is relatively young and many aquaculture operations are yet to be established, producers have the opportunity to minimize greenhouse gas emissions from the start by installing hybrid energy systems that combine traditional generators with photovoltaic and solar thermal panels or wind turbines instead of relying solely on nonrenewable fuels.
Are you a science or industry person? How do you add %s to make these really cheap/ safe…
1. Refrigerant Management 57.15 ***
2. Alternative Refrigerants 48.75 ***
3. Recycled Metals 12.34
4. Recycling 11.29
5. Reduced Plastics 5.40
6. Recycled Paper 2.90
7. Bioplastics 2.48
8. Recycled Plastics 1.69
9. Composting 1.40
Details
1. Refrigerant Management 57.15 ***
Refrigerants are used as working fluid in commercial refrigeration systems; in household appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators; in refrigerated containers used for carrying perishable goods; in air conditioning systems onboard cars, trains, aircraft, and ships; in industrial cooling systems; and more. There are various classes of refrigerants, including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and natural refrigerants such as CO2 and NH3.
All have a high global warming potential (HFCs, for example, have 1,000 to 9,000 times greater capacity to warm the atmosphere than carbon dioxide) and their release into the environment during production, from existing appliances and equipment due to leakages, and during end-of-life disposal of appliances contributes to climate change. CFCs are ozone-depleting substances and have been phased out under the Montreal Protocol, and HCFCs are currently being phased out.
HFCs, which do not deplete the ozone layer, emerged as an alternative to HCFCs and have grown to extensive use. Due to their large impact on global warming, world leaders agreed in 2016 to replace HFCs with natural refrigerants with much less warming potential. Still, the bank of HFCs will grow substantially before all countries halt their use. Because 90 percent of refrigerant emissions happen at end of life, effective disposal of those currently in circulation is essential. After being carefully removed and stored, refrigerants can be purified for reuse or transformed into chemicals that do not cause warming.
Project Drawdown’s Refrigerant Management solution controls leakages of refrigerants from existing appliances through application of the last two options. This solution replaces conventional refrigerant management practices.
Refrigerant management can also be implemented in five main ways:
Lower the demand/use of appliances.
Replace refrigerants with low-warming HFCs/new cooling agents/non-HFC substances.
increase the refrigeration efficiency in appliances.
Control leakages of refrigerants from existing appliances.
Ensure recovery, reclaiming/recycling, and destruction of refrigerants at end of life.
2. Alternative Refrigerants 48.75 ***
Refrigerants are used in commercial refrigeration systems; in household appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators; in refrigerated containers used for carrying perishable goods; as air conditioning systems on board cars, trains, aircrafts, and ships; in industrial cooling systems; and more. They include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and natural refrigerants, such as carbon dioxide and ammonia.
CFCs have been phased out under the Montreal Protocol; HCFCs are also being phased out. Refrigerants are emitted into the environment during the production process, from refrigerant banks (existing equipment) due to leakages, and during end-of-life disposal of appliances. Because the release of refrigerants has a large impact on global warming, world leaders agreed in 2016 to phase out HFCs and replace them with natural refrigerants with much less warming potential under the Kigali Accord of October 2016.
Project Drawdown’s Alternative Refrigerants solution consists of the gradual replacement of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are highly potent greenhouse gases, by alternative refrigerants, including ammonia, carbon dioxide, propane, and isobutane.
3. Recycled Metals 12.34
Materials production is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. As consumption increases, so does the environmental footprint of extraction per unit of material. Production of metals from nonrenewable ores has shifted to lower ore grades that require more energy to extract and process. Production from recycled materials requires less energy than production from ore and so has a lower greenhouse gas footprint. Project Drawdown defines the Recycled Metals solution as the bulk production of metals (not end-use) goods from recycled materials. Recycled metals capitalize on already extracted materials- making it possible to produce goods more efficiently, reduce the need to extract new resources, cut down on energy and water use.
4. Recycling 11.29
Household and commercial recycling include metals, plastic, glass, and other materials, such as rubber, textiles, and e-waste. (We consider paper products and organic wastes in separate Project Drawdown solutions.) Emissions reductions stem from avoiding emissions associated with landfilling and from using recycled materials. With about 50 percent of recycled materials coming from households and the rest from industry, if the average worldwide recycling rate of the materials considered here increases to 62–82 percent of total recyclable municipal solid waste, recycling could avoid 10.36–11.29 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 2050.
Project Drawdown’s Recycling solution increases recovery of recyclable materials, not including paper or organic materials, from both industrial and residential sectors. Recovering and recycling waste materials for use in new products reduces the amount of materials manufactured from virgin sources, produces less greenhouse gas emissions, and reduces the environmental burden of landfilling. Waste included in this solution is post-consumer waste, measured at waste collection centers. Recyclable waste types considered for this solution are metals, plastic, glass, and other (paper products and organic wastes are included in other Project Drawdown solutions). This solution replaces the disposal of recyclable materials in landfills.
Collection, transport, and processing are, for the time being, largely powered by fossil fuels. Even still, recycling remains an effective approach to managing waste while reducing emissions. It also reduces resource extraction, minimizes other pollutants,
Managing household waste tends to be the responsibility of city governments, or of informal waste collection in lower-income cities. Strategies to enhance residential and industrial recycling include:
fees for landfill waste but not recycling
redeemable deposits paid at purchase
extended producer responsibility
enhanced markets for recycled materials
innovation in conversion technologies
circular business models.
5. Reduced Plastics 5.40
6. Recycled Paper 2.90
7. Bioplastics 2.48
8. Recycled Plastics 1.69
9. Composting 1.40
Are you a science or industry person? How do you make vehicle types cheaper and safer for the 8 billion? And uptake of these versus non renewable energy/ energy efficient transport types?
1. Efficient Trucks 10.77
2. Efficient Ocean Shipping 9.83
3. Electric Cars 9.76
4. Efficient Aviation 5.82
5. Hybrid Cars 4.71
6. High-Speed Rail 3.62
7. Electric Trains 3.25
8. Electric Bicycles 1.55
Details
1. Efficient Trucks 10.77
2. Efficient Ocean Shipping 9.83
3. Electric Cars 9.76
4. Efficient Aviation 5.82
5. Hybrid Cars 4.71
6. High-Speed Rail 3.62
7. Electric Trains 3.25
8. Electric Bicycles 1.55
Are you a farmer? For all farmers of crops…
Farming Practices- Specific Types of Crops
A lot of these are actually similar variations of what you can do:
1. Perennial Staple Crops 32.87 ***
2. Bamboo Production 19.60 ***
3. Improved Rice Production 14.43 ***
4. Perennial Biomass Production 7.04
5. System of Rice Intensification 4.44
Farming Practices- General Practices
A lot of these are actually similar variations of what you can do:
1. Silvopasture 42.31 ***
2. Tree Intercropping 24.40 ***
3. Multistrata Agroforestry 23.94 ***
4. Regenerative Annual Cropping 23.21 ***
5. Abandoned Farmland Restoration 20.32 ***
6 Conservation Agriculture 8.08
7. Farm Irrigation Efficiency 2.07
8. Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders 0.68
Details
Farming Practices- Specific Types of Crops
1. Perennial Staple Crops 32.87 ***
2. Bamboo Production 19.60 ***
3. Improved Rice Production 14.43 ***
4. Perennial Biomass Production 7.04
5. System of Rice Intensification 4.44
Farming Practices- General Practices
A lot of these are actually similar variations of what you can do:
1. Silvopasture 42.31 ***
Silvopasture often runs counter to farming norms and can be costly and slow to implement. However, it has financial benefits to farmers, protects farmers from risk, increase health of land.
Silvopasture integrates trees, pasture, and forage into a single system for raising livestock. Project Drawdown’s Silvopasture solution involves adding trees to pastures for increased productivity and biosequestration. It replaces conventional livestock grazing on pasture and rangeland.
Incorporating trees into agriculture improves land health and increases carbon sequestration. Pastures with trees sequester five to 10 times as much carbon as those of the same size that are treeless (42.31 is a really large number) while maintaining or increasing productivity and providing a suite of additional benefits. Livestock continue to emit the greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide, but these are more than offset by carbon sequestration, at least until soil carbon saturation is achieved.
Silvopasture also creates financial benefits for farmers and ranchers. Livestock, trees, and other forest products, such as nuts, fruit, and mushrooms, generate income on different time horizons. And help protect farmers from risk. The health and productivity of both animals and the land improve.
2. Tree Intercropping 24.40 ***
Growing trees and annual crops together increase biomass, soil organic matter, and carbon sequestration.
There is much potential to scale up tree intercropping, for example in the mechanized regions of North and South America. On cropland with moderate to steep slopes, with poor or degraded soils, or other challenges, tree intercropping is an important tool for slope stabilization and restoration and improving degraded and infertile soils.
Tree intercropping—intermingling trees and crops—increases the carbon content of the soil and productivity of the land. Other benefits include:
reducing erosion and creating habitat
protecting fast-growing annuals from wind and rain damage
drawing up minerals and nutrients for shallow-rooted plants
protecting light-sensitive crops from excess sunlight.
Tree intercropping has many variations.
Some systems use trees to support annual crop production (e.g., intercropping with nitrogen-fixing trees, as in evergreen agriculture)
or to protect against erosion, flooding, or wind damage (e.g., hedgerows, riparian buffers, and windbreaks).
In other systems, the trees are crops themselves (e.g., strip intercropping of annual crops with timber or fruit trees).
Project Drawdown’s Tree Intercropping solution involves a suite of agroforestry systems that deliberately grow trees together with annual crops in a given area at the same time.
This solution replaces conventional annual crop production on degraded cropland.
Tree intercropping is an important strategy for producing annual crops while sequestering carbon in soils and above-ground biomass.
Tree intercropping combines the sequestration power of trees with the ability to continue producing the annual crops humanity depends upon. This solution surely has a major role to play in agricultural mitigation efforts.
3. Multi-strata Agroforestry 23.94 ***
This is worthy of a place at the centre of land-based climate solutions. In tropical humid climates, efforts to protect and scale up multi-strata agroforestry should be a high priority.
This includes layers of carbon-sequestering vegetation, and one or more layers of crops grow in the shade of taller trees- the structure and function resemble those of natural forests, in some cases simplified.
4. Regenerative Annual Cropping 23.21 ***
5. Abandoned Farmland Restoration 20.32 ***
6. Conservation Agriculture 8.08
7. Farm Irrigation Efficiency 2.07
8. Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders 0.68
Are you a farmer? For all farmers of animals…
1. Managed Grazing 20.92 ***
2. Improved Cattle Feed 15.05 ***
3. Nutrient Management 11.48 ***
4. Improved Manure Management 6.09
Farming Practices- Animals
1. Managed Grazing 20.92 ***
Problematic grazing practices have contributed to land degradation and loss of soil carbon. Managed grazing practices, on the other hand, can enhance net carbon sequestration and other aspects of soil and vegetation by controlling intensity and timing of grazing, enclosing grasslands to encourage resting, and/or adopting other grazing practices. Project Drawdown defines managed grazing as strategically adjusting stocking rates, timing, and intensity of grazing to enhance carbo sequestration. This solution replaces conventional grazing on grasslands, including both pastures and rangelands
2. Improved Cattle Feed 15.05 ***
3. Nutrient Management 11.48 ***
4. Improved Manure Management 6.09
Are you thinking about building? Are you a builder, potential home building improver, potential business building improver, city and town builders, some public infrastructure…
Improving buildings, new buildings, infrastructure
1. Building Retrofitting
2. Net-Zero Buildings
3. Microgrids
4. Insulation 18.54 ***
5. LED Lighting 15.69 ***
6. Alternative Cement Formulation 15.56 ***
7. Public Transit 15.42 ***
8. Building Automation Systems 14.01 ***
9. Solar Hot Water 13.73 ***
10. High-Performance Glass 11.34
11. District Heating 9.68
12. High-Efficiency Heat Pumps 9.05
13. Smart Thermostats 7.25
14. Bicycle Infrastructure 4.63
15. Walkable Cities 3.51
16. Low-Flow Fixtures 1.52
17. Green and Cool Roofs 0.99
18. Water Distribution Efficiency 0.86
19. Dynamic Glass 0.54
Details
Are you thinking about building? Are you a builder, potential home building improver, potential business building improver, city and town builders, some public infrastructure…
Improving buildings, new buildings, infrastructure
1. Building Retrofitting
2. Net-Zero Buildings
3. Microgrids
4. Insulation 18.54 ***
Insulation is one of the most cost-effective ways to make buildings more energy efficient. At relatively low cost, insulation reduces the need for energy use for heating and cooling in old and new buildings.
5. LED Lighting 15.69 ***
6. Alternative Cement Formulation 15.56 ***
7. Public Transit 15.42 ***
8. Building Automation Systems 14.01 ***
9. Solar Hot Water 13.73 ***
Hot water for showers, laundry, and washing dishes consumes a quarter of residential energy use worldwide. Solar water heating- exposing water to the sun to warm it- can reduce that fuel consumption. Solar hot water systems can be differentiated by the type of solar thermal collector used (unglazed and glazed flat plate collectors and evacuated tube collectors) and the type of system operation used (active, which have circulating pumps and controls, and passive, which do not).
10. High-Performance Glass 11.34
11. District Heating 9.68
12. High-Efficiency Heat Pumps 9.05
13. Smart Thermostats 7.25
14. Bicycle Infrastructure 4.63
15. Walkable Cities 3.51
16. Low-Flow Fixtures 1.52
17. Green and Cool Roofs 0.99
18. Water Distribution Efficiency 0.86
Pumping water from source to treatment plant to storage and distribution requires enormous amounts of energy. In fact, water utilities are among the biggest consumers of electricity globally. Unfortunately, a significant portion of the water utilities manage is lost in the distribution network to problems such as pipe leakage, meter error, and unauthorized consumption. Saving just half of these losses would dramatically boost the energy efficiency of water management.
Project Drawdown’s Water Distribution Efficiency solution reduces water leakage and water oversupply, which reduces pumping and pressurization electricity and associated greenhouse gas emissions. This solution replaces conventional water system management with no specific leak detection program.
Pressure management and active leak detection are two major ways to reduce leakage. Pressure management involves installing pressure valves at water inlets and outlets to better monitor water pressure and flow, and leads to reductions in pipe bursts and leaks from broken pipes. Active leak detection can involve a range of technologies, such as thermal imaging, noise logging, or gas injection. Prices and precision vary for these approaches, but the value can be high, especially for high-operating-cost, high-water-scarcity regions.
19. Dynamic Glass 0.54
Total: 1610.47
These Are The 18 Overall Categories I Created and Grouped Together
Overall - Energy - Nature - Buildings - Travel - Industry
Preventing Tipping Points
Food and cooking - Education
Solar power - Other electricity types - Energy support
Farming Practices - Forests - Natural environments - Oceans and Seas
Improving Current Buildings - Buildings
Transport - Travel
Industry: Recycling- everything recyclable - Refrigeration Solutions - Cement - Methane
There were actually 16 categories, but I originally arranged them into the 18 applied categories above.
How do I pick 10, 12 or 14, and make notes for them. I could potentially grade the notes /100 on how well explained I think they are, and on where %s need to be.
The thing is, all the smaller points need to be achieved too, and potentially another 100 things too to make up for what can’t be reached above. So working on these will help too. The good news is, a lot of these things achieve both climate change goals and sustainability at the same time…
Further Notes on Project Drawdown, if not enough time to reach these by 2025, or by 2030
All 100 of the preventions need to be achieved, and potentially a 2nd 100 need to be achieved as well for the ones that aren’t achievable in the first list.
If people are struggling to reach the goals before the 2025 tipping point or the 2030 tipping point, if it comes to this, here are the 24 largest ones (so, probably easier than the other ones)
It might be needed for 2025 though, because 2025 is really close.
If there was an overall counter of how much was needed for the 2025 tipping points and where the world is right now, this would help a lot, because people would know how close or far away they were from the goal. This could also potentially have recommendations of what tasks were needed to get there? Would this be motivating enough? It would need to be highly motivating.
To prevent the 2025 tipping points, you could think about the 24 largest ones, in order of size
However, all 100 of the methods need to be implemented, even the small ones, and potentially the 2nd 100 as well- these larger ones might help with the 2025 goals, and 2030 goals.
The strategy is that the wealthiest 1%, 5%, 10%, 20% need to go first, once they can to afford this enough (because small percentages of wealthier people have money problems within their own societies).
To also remember that climate change disasters increased by 5 times with the last 1.5 degrees, from 1970 to 2019, and will increase another 5 times with the next 1.5 degrees.
There is a serious problem with the tipping points around this, and what will happen above this 5 times increase. For example, ecosystems are often dependent on insects, and a small temperature increase can kill off %s of too large %s of insects, destabilizing the surrounding ecosystems. So going even 0.2 degrees or 0.4 degrees above 1.5 degrees sets off various tipping points… 1.5 degrees might be impossible. But regular efforts helps a huge number of people all over the world.
The reason why this is so important is that climate change needs to be reduced by close to 50% by 2030 (and there are tipping points at 2025 as well), so the wealthiest need to go first. A way to make this really, really, really easy and interesting to problem solve is the 7+7 small sustainability efforts per week. A sustainability effort can literally be 2 seconds of effort on a difficult paragraph, or it can be a few minutes reading something harder. This is a really, really, really easy way to move forward on problem solving climate change around your habits and actions.
When I tried it for a few weeks, I also found that got increasingly interested… it became really interesting and really motivating, and trying to get 7+7 became really rewarding. And if you want to do more than that, you can add 7+7 backwards from the last week of 2100, where the idea is, where the forwards and backwards meet, this is when it is solved. It becomes interesting to do quite quickly. However, it’s not for large %s- it’s more for small regular efforts, especially around personal challenges.