Behavioral shifts are actions individuals can take in their own lives to reduce carbon emissions. Research has ranked these actions based on their effectiveness. For example, while recycling is important, it has a smaller impact compared to not owning a car. Some of the most immediate and impactful personal choices include: raising one fewer child, not owning a car, avoiding long-distance flights, adopting a plant-based diet, and choosing renewable energy sources.

Recycling ranks number 7 on the list of effective actions (linked below). However, personal changes can go beyond individual behavior. You can also make a difference by:

• Advocating through donations of time and money to organizations working for meaningful change.
• Becoming active in your community, school, or workplace to implement sustainability initiatives and raise awareness.
• Pressuring corporations to assess and reduce their environmental impact, and encouraging them to influence their supply chains.
• Advocating for political leaders to implement the large-scale changes needed to address the climate crisis.

While individuals have the power to make impactful choices, it’s also important to recognize that wealth and consumption are unequally distributed. For example, in the U.S., the richest greenhouse gas emitters generate more than four times the global average, while the poorest emitters are responsible for a much smaller share. To even out carbon footprints, the top emitters in the U.S. would need to reduce emissions by 87% by 2030, while the bottom half could actually increase their emissions by 3% (Bloomberg). In contrast, lifting people out of extreme poverty would raise global emissions by less than one percent.

In this crisis, it can be difficult to see the value of seemingly minor actions that might grow into larger cultural trends. For example, while upgrading light bulbs has less of an immediate impact than washing clothes in cold water, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do both. These small changes not only save money but also offer health benefits. When sustainable practices are widely adopted, they can have a massive collective effect. Once embraced by the majority, these practices become the norm.