Energy Systems

Actions are required at every level: government, private sector and the public.

  • Commit to more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions and support market-based strategies that speed the transition to renewable energy and improvements in energy efficiency.
  • Set national and sub-national decarbonization and net-zero carbon targets.
  • Remove fossil fuel subsidies in a socially acceptable manner, stop the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure and plan for a just fossil fuel phase-out.
  • Remove barriers to the more rapid expansion of renewables; adapt the electricity system’s market rules, allow production for own use, accelerate planning and provision of sites, remove bureaucratic hurdles, regulate grid access and connection, and educate workers.
  • Utilise a diverse variety of renewable energy sources.
  • Set decarbonization and net-zero carbon targets for your companies, divest holdings in fossil fuel companies and phase out unabated coal and gas generation.
  • Monitor and reduce your company’s energy usage and take action to improve energy efficiency.
  • Steeply accelerate the share of zero-carbon power in electricity generation; it should be between 65 and 92 per cent by 2030, and between 98 and 100 per cent by 2050.
  • Adapt grid/storage and demand management.
  • Ensure reliable energy access for all. Currently, 10 per cent of the world’s population has no access to electricity and over 40 per cent has unreliable access.
  • Reduce your energy consumption by applying simple changes: seal windows and doorsteps, avoid thermic bridges, install double glass glazing, use LED bulbs, invest in high inertia radiators.
  • Produce your own energy if possible by installing small scale installations such as solar panels to power your home.
  • If possible, choose utilities and operators committed to decarbonization and energy efficiency.
  • Urge your politicians to propose and vote for ambitious policies for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
  • Investigate national, regional and local incentive programmes (rebates, tax incentives, low interest rate loans) for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
  • Advocate that investments or pension funds move towards clean energy and consider disinvestment from those not taking action.

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Industry

Actions are required at every level: government, private sector and the public.

  • Plan a just transformation at the national level and ensure regional planning and regulation.
  • Incentivize and mandate less emissions of greenhouse gases, including cutting methane leaks.
  • Promote the use of efficient and renewable heating, cooling, electrification, circular material flow.
  • Support zero carbon industrial processes and ensure the standards used in the design of infrastructure are robust in the face of future climate change impacts.
  • Support alternative carbon pricing mechanisms, low-carbon products, research and innovation.
  • Promote climate-resilient industry practices through tools such as regulatory standards, and vulnerability maps, combined with a strong communication drive to ensure the private sector is aware of climate risks, projections and uncertainties.
  • Scale up research and development to create new options for low-carbon industrial processes, use new fuels and innovative solutions.
  • Understand new market opportunities arising from climate change that allow companies to develop a first-mover advantage over competitors.
  • Audit the energy use and resource efficiency of your operations to identify cost-effective high-impact reductions and understand your exposure to climate risk and take precautions. Incorporate climate vulnerability assessments business plans and future investments.
  • Reduce demand and enhance access to energy-efficient, material-efficient and carbon-neutral materials, scale up energy efficiency.
  • Increase water-use efficiency to protect water resources and thereby enhance adaptation.
  • Rethink your needs and aspirations: Consider what you need and what impacts your purchases have on the planet and buy products that will last longer, be used multiple times, and are intended to be in use for as long as possible before being remanufactured or recycled.
  • Avoid consuming products that use excessive amounts of water in the production process.
  • Recommend and buy from companies that provide spare parts to repair, that offer take-back services, or that use recycled materials in production.
  • Ask companies and governments for information about how they produce and source both goods and services; read up on their commitments to sustainable production and practices and support the ones that adopt sustainable and circular practices.

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Agriculture, Food & Waste

Actions are required at every level: government, private sector and the public.

  • Measure food loss, create waste baselines and implement strategies to reduce food waste
  • Set and promote science-based targets to increase the availability and uptake of plant-rich diets, increase sustainable production and minimize food waste
  • Inform consumers and producers about food choices and how to reduce food loss waste across the supply chain
  • Align national diet recommendations with climate goals
  • Promote and support climate-smart and sustainable agriculture practices
  • Measure and report company food loss and waste
  • Adopt a corporate commitment to halve food loss and waste by 2030
  • Work with suppliers and clients to find solutions that reduce food loss and waste across the supply chain, targeting waste hotspots like weak links in the cold chain
  • Review packaging, provide clear storage and freezing guidance, eliminate ‘display until’ dates and clarify best before/use-by dates
  • Avoid ‘Buy One Get One Free’ food promotions if they are likely to cause customers to buy more than they can eat
  • Repurpose extra-ripe foods in-store
  • Integrate corporate food loss and waste strategies across your company, including by making it easier for consumers and employees to limit their food waste
  • Set up processes for surplus food rescue to transfer healthy, uneaten food to services who can distribute it to those in need
  • Urge your politicians to propose ambitious policies for waste reduction and nature-based agriculture
  • Push for and support policies for waste reduction and nature-based agriculture
  • Speak up at work to make waste reduction a collective issue
  • Advocate for waste reduction and nature-based agriculture in your organization
  • Talk to friends about the need for waste reduction and nature-based agriculture
  • Attend or arrange events or communities for waste reduction and nature-based agriculture
  • Shift towards a more plant-rich diet
  • Plan meals, write shopping lists, use portion-sizing tools for rice and pasta and cook with leftovers
  • Buy only what you can eat or save
  • Embrace ‘ugly’ fruit and vegetables
  • Store food to maximize freshness, including by freezing food when appropriate if possible
  • Share excess with services who can distribute it to the needy
  • Compost food scraps
  • Ask grocery stores, restaurants and hotels to tackle food loss and champion those who lead the way
  • Eat seasonally and locally when possible

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Agriculture, Forestry and
Other Land Use (AFOLU)

Actions are required at every level: government, private sector and the public.

Agriculture and Food

  • Adopt legislation - at national level - which requires large retail businesses to implement a scheme to deal with their food waste. Measure food loss, create waste baselines and implement strategies to reduce food waste, especially at the retail and household levels.
  • Reform national dietary guidelines to help citizens to make healthier and more sustainable food choices. Inform consumers and producers about food choices and how to reduce food loss waste. Leverage educational programmes, reform labelling guidelines, government-sponsored campaigns.
  • Incentivize nature-positive and climate-resilient agricultural practices including through the repurposing of agricultural subsidies, to encourage the adoption of sustainable practices and technologies.
  • Increased investments in public infrastructure such as crop storage and waste management facilities to reduce food waste emissions and to add value to compostable products.
  • Integrate food production, distribution, and retail into city planning to enhance equitable and affordable access to healthy food choices.
  • Promote healthy soil practices to enhance ecosystem restoration, and invest in outreach services to strengthen local capacity. . Increasedwater retention, and reducedsoil erosion will not only boost agricultural productivity, but also help communities adapt to changing precipitation patterns and water scarcity. Increase research and investment in the development of drought-resilient and flood-resilient crop strains and make these accessible to smallholders.
  • Encourage the diversification of crops, and reintroduction of indigenous species, which are well adapted to local conditions to bolster climate resilience.

Forests

  • Enact and enforce laws that prohibit illegal logging and deforestation; and incentivize sustainable forestry practices.
  • Establish and expand protected areas, national parks, and forest reserves to conserve vital ecosystems and prevent deforestation.
  • Allocate funds to support local communities and indigenous groups engaged in sustainable forest management and include them, recognized as the best guardians of forests, within state structures to secure their interventions and the creation of sound policies to guarantee their rights
  • Participate in regional and global initiatives and programmes, aiming to stop deforestation and financially reward countries for forest conservation and sustainable forest management efforts.
  • Implement state-of-the art monitoring systems to track, monitor, report, predict and verify deforestation in real-time and implement safeguards systems that ensure high social and environmental integrity and facilitate leveraging carbon finance from forests.
  • Restore and protect ecosystems on a large scale to provide natural defences against the impacts of climate change (i.e., ecosystem-based adaptation).

Agriculture and Food

  • Integrate measurable and timebound company-wide targets to reduce Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
  • Design for circularity. Integrate food loss and waste reduction strategies into business models ; make it easier for consumers and employees to minimise food and packaging waste.
  • Review packaging and integrate biodegradable packaging options where appropriate; provide clear storage and freezing guidance, eliminate ‘display until’ dates and clarify best before/use-by dates.
  • Set up processes for surplus food rescue to transfer healthy, uneaten food to services who can distribute it to those in need.
  • Decarbonize the food supply chain, starting at the field level through the adoption of healthy soil practices. Integrate innovative technologies to further reduce emissions at the processing, packaging, transport, retail and waste management phases.
  • Improve food production efficiency at the farm level by integrating healthy soil practices, changing the composition of animal feeds and breeds, improving the management of manure and crop nutrients, measuring and minimising water usage and increasing rainwater harvesting. Integrate forecast-based recommendations into planting and harvesting schedules to minimise losses.
  • Incorporate climate forecasts into planting schedules and fishing schedules.

Forests

  • Work with suppliers to find collaborative solutions to minimize ecosystem impacts across the supply chain. Consider overlaps between making your supply chain climate-resilient and restoring forests and ecosystems - and make it happen.
  • Invest in landscape conservation and restoration and deforestation-free supply chains as part of net-zero emission efforts; investments must meet high social and environmental standards.
  • Invest in high-quality forest carbon credits and ensure transparency and integrity in the use of forest carbon credits as offsets.
  • Ensure private investments in commercial forestry are directed towards sustainable forest management practices
  • Internalize ecosystem services into cost-benefit analyses for land-use plans.

Agriculture and Food

  • Support local farmers by eating seasonally and locally when possible. Embrace ‘ugly’ fruit and vegetables, and compost food scraps.
  • Meal plan; write shopping lists, cook more at home, save leftovers, and shift towards a more plant-rich diet.
  • Store food to maximise freshness, including by freezing food when possible.
  • Donate excess food to services or charities that can distribute it to the needy.
  • Ask grocery stores, restaurants and hotels about their plans to tackle food loss and champion those who lead the way.
  • Urge politicians to propose ambitious policies, infrastructure, and services for waste reduction and repurposing.
  • Get involved with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to advocate and organise fundraising events in favour of waste-reduction and environmental-friendly agriculture.

Forests

  • Learn from nature and see where it fits in with your life, discover more about the systems that sustain us - like where your food comes from - and make more informed choices.
  • Be mindful and proactive about the impacts of your interactions with nature. Spend more time connecting with nature and natural spaces.
  • Urge your politicians to propose ambitious regulations to prevent deforestation and encourage nature restoration.
  • Attend or arrange events or communities against deforestation and for nature restoration.
  • Join a local or national organization supporting forest habitat conservation and restoration. Whenever possible, neutralize your carbon footprint by donating to groups that conserve and restore forests and peatlands.
  • Make conscious decisions to buy products from companies that adhere to deforestation-free supply chains, such as products with certified sustainable labels and consider adopting deforestation-free diets, making conscious choices to consume products that don't contribute to deforestation.
  • Actively push for and support policies that discourage deforestation and encourage forest protection and restoration, demonstrating personal commitment to the cause.

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Transport

Actions are required at every level: government, private sector and the public.

  • Develop policy frameworks and establish national strategies to switch to low-emission road transport systems including the promotion of non-motorized transport, improved public transportation and low-carbon electric mobility.
  • Invest in and remove barriers to non-motorized mobility infrastructure, like protected bicycle lanes or paths for pedestrian.
  • Promote the significant public health benefits of low-carbon transport policies, including from reduced air pollution, improved safety and more active mobility.
  • Set mandates to switch to zero emissions road vehicles by specific dates, regulate and incentivize zero-carbon fuels for aviation, invest in zero emissions transport infrastructure.
  • Adjust taxation /pricing schemes to increase tax burden for polluting modes of transport and incentivize use of low-emission transport.
  • Adopt integrated land-use planning to avoid transport needs by prioritizing moving people and improving transport access over private cars.
  • Embody an integrated approach that combines emission reduction with strategies to bolster resilience against climate impacts. Climate risk and vulnerability assessments should be incorporated into planning the design, construction and operation of transport infrastructure, thereby ensuring that roadways, rail systems and ports can withstand extreme weather conditions.
  • Switch passenger and freight transport road fleets to electric vehicles and set targets to complete transformation to zero-emissions vehicle technologies for cars, vans, buses and trucks.
  • Switch to low-carbon fuels for ships and planes in combination with the latest energy efficiency measures.
  • Switch to rail for the transportation of goods.
  • Make investments in, and establish pricing for the shift towards low-carbon modes of transport (trains, public transport, cycling).
  • Reduce air travel and off-set for carbon emissions.
  • Arrange for flexible and staggered working arrangements.
  • Prioritize people-powered transportation for short trips.
  • Use public and shared transport and join bike-, scooter- or car-sharing services.
  • Reduce the need for motorized transport and rethink air travel, choose rail over air.
  • Buy electric vehicles and smaller cars that use cleaner fuels.
  • Urge your politicians to propose support for non-motorized transportation, public transport and electric mobility.
  • Support local government initiatives to introduce better mass transit and non-motorized mobility infrastructure.
  • Advocate for e-mobility and non-emission transport in your organization. Attend or arrange events or communities for sustainable transport.
  • Reduce your commute by working from home.
  • Hold meetings over videoconference.

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Buildings

Actions are required at every level: government, private sector and the public.

  • Through regulations and incentives, encourage the construction of buildings with a zero-carbon footprint, integrate low-emissions requirements in urban planning, and establish building regulations to ensure buildings can withstand climate-related disasters.
  • Prioritise an integrated approach to both adaptation and mitigation in the buildings and construction sector. Buildings designed with climate adaptation can contribute to reduced energy consumption.
  • Ensure climate resilience of buildings through tools such as regulatory standards like building codes, spatial planning frameworks such as vulnerability maps.
  • The integration of nature-based solutions, like urban green spaces, can help building and communities adapt to increasing temperatures and extreme weather events.
  • Explore innovative financing mechanisms, such as a revolving loans scheme, to free up resources to make buildings more resilient to climate change.
  • Make and implement zero-emissions plans with zero-carbon building materials if the business model relies on carbon intensive raw materials and high energy buildings.
  • Ensure that building owners make their building stock zero-carbon without overburdening tenants and ensure that companies that own or rent buildings for their operation, e.g. offices, shops, make their building stock zero-carbon.
  • Develop tailored financial products to promote access to technologies and encourage retrofitting of private structures to improve resilience.
  • Incorporate climate change projections into construction plans to avoid future costs to infrastructure from climate impacts.
  • Review strategies and align investment criteria with a zero-carbon building stock. This includes the high need for long-term, low-interest loans for zero-carbon buildings with their higher upfront investment and lower operating costs.
  • Get informed on the energy requirements and impact of your building. Choose sustainable materials and practices when renovating and fixing your home.
  • Reduce your energy consumption by applying simple changes: seal windows and doorsteps, avoid thermic bridges, install double glass glazing, use LED bulbs, invest in high inertia radiators.
  • Change habits: open the curtains for natural light, close shades in hot climates, cover pans when boiling, spend less time in shower, compost organics, collect rainwater and reuse it for gardening, toilets and washing machines.
  • Produce your own energy if possible by installing small scale installations such as solar panels to power your home.
  • Invest in rainwater harvesting systems to increase climate resilience to the impacts of drought.

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