Talk about Solutions
The biggest question most people have about climate change is, “What are the solutions?” Talking about solutions is easy to do — you don’t need to be an expert to share good news.
Your Impact
Action Steps & Tips
Introduction
The majority of Americans are concerned about climate change. It's likely that your neighbor or friend has the same concerns that you do, and would be interested to learn about solutions. In fact, Yale research shows that learning about solutions is the top question people have about climate change - more than the causes, impacts or evidence.
Talking about solutions is easy and is bringing good news. Talking about climate change can seem scary, however, talking about climate solutions is generally a positive conversation! Climate change can seem like such a huge and overwhelming problem when you don’t know about the solutions. Most people are glad to find out we have solutions and even happier when they learn that the solutions don’t need to turn our lives upside down, have many added benefits and that they can take actions to help!
Talking about climate solutions with neighbors, family or friends:
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Is a positive conversation! People are usually happy to learn about solutions and that they can help.
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Is easy, you don’t need to be an expert!
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People want to hear about solutions more than the causes, impacts or evidence.
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Can help to highlight the many benefits of climate solutions like saving money, creating cleaner, healthier air, creating local jobs and reducing our dependence on foreign energy.
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Is a great way to inspire someone else to take actions!
Below is a summary of the basics on solutions and some answers to common questions.
1Learn about solutions
Know the basics. You don’t need to be an expert to talk about the solutions to climate change. If someone you talk to would like more information on the science, you can share the link to our site or the National Academy of Sciences National Climate Assessment.
There are three main areas where we create climate pollution in the U.S.*:
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Burning fossil fuels - 80% of emissions. We create climate pollution when we burn gas, oil and coal to create electricity, heat our buildings, run our factories and power our transportation. Burning fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide, the most common climate pollutant.
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Food production (agriculture) - 10% of emissions. Cattle, sheep and goats create a powerful climate pollutant, methane, during their digestion. Methane is also created from animal waste. Climate pollution is also created by chemical fertilizers and other agricultural practices.
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Waste - 3% of emissions. The powerful climate pollution methane is created from organic waste like food and yard waste that are sent to the landfill (not composted) and carbon dioxide is created by burning waste.
*Source: Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gases and Sinks, 1990-2022, EPA. The remaining emissions are from various chemicals like refrigerants, cement production and other processes.
Climate pollution (greenhouse gases) traps heat in our atmosphere and warms the planet. The goal is to replace activities that create climate pollution with safe alternatives, of which there are plenty! The great news - we have climate safe alternatives to nearly all of the activities that create the climate pollution sources above.
Here are the solutions and basic steps to reduce climate pollution:
- Ditch fossil fuels:
- Make our electricity renewable. Solar and wind electricity sources don’t create climate pollution.
- Renewable electricity sources like solar and wind energy are now the same price or cheaper than fossil fuel sources like natural gas and coal. With new advancements in battery technology and other backup options, we can start to rely on renewable energy for regular, consistent electricity.
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Go Electric. Use renewable electricity to power buildings and transportation. Electric powered options for heating and transportation are far more energy efficient than gas options, so they save money!
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Fly Less. We don’t have a good alternative to fossil fuels for air travel yet, but a lot of bright minds are working on it! Until we do, fly less when you can and offset your air travel when you need to fly.
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Food. Eat less red meat and more plant based meals. Support sustainable farming practices.
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Waste less. Reduce, reuse, recycle and compost as much as possible, particularly organic waste like food and yard trimmings.
Enjoy the benefits! Here are a few of the great added benefits to these solutions:
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Clean, healthy air. Clean, renewable energy doesn’t create air pollution. If we transition to renewable electricity and then use it to power our buildings, factories and vehicles, we will eliminate most air pollution. Imagine a world with no more smog!
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Create millions of U.S. jobs. The transition to clean renewable energy will create millions of local, U.S. jobs. Jobs would include manufacturing and installing renewable energy technology and energy efficiency building upgrades.
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Lower energy costs. In the long run, renewable energy is less expensive and will lower energy bills in the future for families.
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Local control, local benefit. Renewable energy is easy to install and own locally. This creates an opportunity for families and communities to have more control over their energy sources and not be reliant on foreign or distant energy sources.
2 Conversation starters and answers to common questions
Strike up a conversation. It’s easy to talk about solutions. Mention it in passing, just like any other topic. You could say something like, “I just learned about some of the solutions to climate change. I was really surprised at how simple the solutions are and that there are many things I can do to help!”
Here are a few simple answers for the most common questions people have:
Will my actions really make a difference? Yes! Together we have the power to reduce over 40% of climate pollution in the U.S. by taking household actions around our home energy use, transportation, food choices and what we throw away. And we have the opportunity to impact the other 60% of emissions through our purchasing, our vote and other activities.
What about the cost? Climate solutions can actually save a lot of money. The prices for renewable energy like solar and wind have dropped dramatically in the last 10 years. Since solutions like electric cars and electric heat pumps are so much more efficient than burning gas, they also save a lot of money. This means that making this transition will be cost effective and does not need to hurt our economy. The cost of the extreme weather events we have been experiencing and will be coming in the future if we don’t take actions are far greater than the cost to implement solutions. Household actions can also save up to $3,000 a year or more.
Do I need to sacrifice and give up my quality of life? No! We don’t have to walk everywhere and only eat granola to solve climate change! Thanks to new solutions and technology, most climate solutions will actually improve our quality of life not only by saving money, but also by creating cleaner, healthier air, and many other health benefits.
Do I need to buy an electric car right now? No! If you are not ready or don’t see a model that is right for you yet, in the next few years, there will be many more electric car and truck options and more charging stations.
When you are ready for your next car, check them out. Battery ranges are now over 300 miles for most models, making them a feasible option for most people. Electric cars are fun to drive and save a lot of money. They are fast, responsive, quiet, and cheap to operate. In fact, they are so fuel efficient and low maintenance that they can save the average driver up to $1,000 or more a year. Electric cars have no engine, so no oil changes or major services.
In fact, because of climate change, many countries have made commitments to phase out the sales of gas-powered cars including all EU countries including France, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, and many other countries including Canada, Israel, Norway, UK, New Zealand, Colombia, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
I’ve heard about heat pumps, but are they reliable? I live where it’s cold, will they work? Heat pump technology is not new, it has been around for a long time. It actually works just like a refrigerator but in reverse — taking heat out of the air instead of cold. Heat pump technology is well tested and there are now cold weather heat pumps that perform well in temperatures below zero. In fact, half of the homes in cold and snowy Norway, Finland and Sweden are heated with heat pumps and over 100,000 heat pumps have been installed in Maine.
Sales of heat pumps are increasing every year and in 2024, heat pumps sold over 30% more than gas space heating units in the U.S. Heat pump water heater sales have also increased significantly over the past few years. Heat pumps are highly efficient so they also save money (a lot of money if you are replacing a propane, fuel oil or resistance electric system!) and don’t create climate pollution.
I can't do this all tomorrow! No problem! The goal is to make significant progress on this transition over the next 10 years. You can plan to make changes as you normally would, like switching to an electric vehicle the next time you are ready to buy a new car. Install a new high-efficiency electric water heater the next time your water heater is up for replacement. This really doesn’t need to turn our lives upside down, it is about making good choices to protect our future when we can.
I rent, can I still make a difference? Absolutely! Over 75% of the climate solutions actions here on our web app are renter friendly. Choose the Explore All Actions option and click on the Renter Friendly filter to see what actions are available for you!
Is it too late? No. There is no question that we have already created enough climate pollution to create significant challenges. We can see this in the heat and extreme weather events happening in the last 5-10 years. However, we have solutions and there is a lot of good progress happening! Renewable energy sources like solar and wind are growing rapidly and now create over 30% of all electricity globally. EVs and heat pump solutions are also expanding and solutions are moving forward. Every action we take in the next 10 years will make a big difference in how much progress we make and how much we are able to protect our future. This is an all hands on deck moment! Together, we can make an impact.
3Call a few friends and talk about climate solutions!
Most people are happy when they hear about the solutions to climate change and learn how they can help. You can brighten someone’s day by letting them know we have a path forward and that it will make our lives better. We all share the same basic concerns about protecting our families, our health, and our future, especially our children's future. Talking about solutions helps to bring this important information to light and raise awareness about the choices that we can all make to help protect our future.
So call a few friends, or chat with a neighbor and talk about climate solutions!