Energy

Conversations:  Let people know how much you have reduced your emissions and if you are saving money. You could tell a story about how easy it was to reduce your energy usage; or if it took a little while to get into new habits, you could say you got there in the end. 

Spread the word: You could start your own group of your family and friends and go through the steps for energy saving. Don’t forget to share your successes, tips, and tricks with friends and family on social media.

Close the dirtiest power stations: Coal has the biggest share of global electricity generation, but not all coal-fired power stations are the same. Researchers have found that the worst polluting power stations are responsible for most emissions. If the top 5% of these hyper-polluting power stations were shut down, then up to 49% of the world’s emissions from electricity generation could be eliminated. 

All developed and high-income countries that have coal-fired power stations should start by shutting down one of the hyper-polluting plants in their country and replace it with renewable energy. Government should set up a process which respects and includes all the people and organizations affected. You could discuss this with your national politicians and promote it to people you know personally and on social media. For a step-by-step process, see the "Infographic - Switching to renewable energy" in the downloads section.

Find out if your country has reached 100% renewable energy. If not, then the national government should have a plan that will make this happen. You can search online: “Has [state/country name] reached 100% renewable energy?”

The download section has a list of ideas you can use in the file "Influence government and Industry - Energy".  You could take a single issue and adapt it to make it your own and fit your local circumstances. For example, the plan includes supporting developers of renewable energy to start projects, connecting them to the grid, incentivizing businesses, and households to install solar, promoting energy efficiency, and many other activities.