As the world prepares for the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), journalists are filing reports on the failure of public policy to make a positive difference for climate change:

If current projections hold, the United States will drill for more oil and gas in 2030 than at any point in its history… So will Russia and Saudi Arabia. In fact, almost all of the top 20 fossil fuel-producing countries plan to produce more oil, gas and coal in 2030 than they do today.
—Coming Soon: More Oil, Gas and Coal, November 9, 2023, The New York Times

Norway is one of the few countries that plans to produce less fossil fuel. Nonetheless, the Norwegian prime minister has said “political decisions to cut the supply side” will not succeed; progress “will have to come from the demand side” [emphasis added].

How to Burn Less Fossil Fuel in 2030

Sustainability champions like us can make a real and permanent difference in reducing demand for fossil fuel. We can help our own families and organizations use clean energy and eat plant-based diets, becoming trustworthy trail guides on practical pathways to a sustainable future for everyone. Here are the three most important decisions we can make to ensure the world burns less fossil fuel:

1. Plan to replace our own oil boilers and natural gas furnaces with 100% electric heating systems, not new fossil fuel-burning systems (no matter how efficient) that lock in fossil fuel demand for decades more.

2. When buying new cars for ourselves, choose 100% electric models, not new hybrid vehicles (no matter how efficient) that lock in fossil fuel demand for decades more.

3. Choose more grains, vegetables, fruits, eggs, mushrooms, and less beef and dairy that require fossil fuel to produce, transport, and sell.

The Limits of Laws

We could outlaw fossil fuel today, but it wouldn’t solve climate change because we don’t (yet) have enough electricians and equipment to electrify the world. Laws banning fossil fuel would either be ignored or repealed. In a free-market democracy, voters and consumers choose to enjoy high-quality living. The vast majority of citizens understand that today, burning fossil fuel makes it possible for them to heat their homes, cook their food, drive their cars, and eat cheap beef and dairy.

When we choose to heat our homes, cook our food, and drive our cars with electricity, we help build a better economy, sending a signal to entrepreneurs and investors to hire and train more electricians and build and operate more factories to make heat pumps, induction stoves, and electric vehicles. When we eat less beef and dairy, farmers and grocers raise fewer cows and shrink the number of refrigerated meat and dairy trucks and display cases. Only after it’s clear that everyone can enjoy a high quality of life without burning fossil fuel can politicians win office and re-election on a platform to transition to a clean energy economy.

As sustainability champions, it’s up to us—not politicians who must obey the will of the electorate—to put in the hard work to show our fellow citizens and consumers that a clean energy future is better than continuing to burn fossil fuel. Our job is to lead by positive and persuasive personal example.

The Power of Personal Example

When you take effective personal action, you influence your family, friends, and neighbors. A recent study found that “the probability of an individual installing solar panels is 89% higher if that person knows someone who has already done so.” The following factors allow you to influence people positively:

1. Your actions must be visible. In the case of solar panels on the front of your house, they may be clearly visible to everyone passing by. But things like induction stoves, insulation, heat pumps, electric vehicles, and plant-based diets are largely invisible. Lawns signs, social media posts, and conversations can help make those invisible improvements visible and known to people around you.

2. You must be trustworthy. If a neighbor notices you have a heat pump and asks a question about it, you are more likely to persuade them to follow your example if you can explain how the heat pump works and how much it costs. Being knowledgeable about the sustainability steps you’ve taken helps build trust among the people you can influence.

3. Your results must be successful. If you install heat pumps and your house is always too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer, you are likely to turn off rather than inspire people—they will avoid heat pumps and stick with their oil boilers. Being extremely knowledgeable about sustainable practices helps you successfully adopt and promote them. Acknowledging failures and correcting them actually increases the chances you’ll be able to encourage other people to take effective action, because you show how it’s possible to recover from mistakes and how to avoid mistakes in the first place.

Get Motivated to Take Effective Action

Taking personal action to show how clean energy and plant-based diets make our lives better is the path less traveled to convince our government to reduce the supply of fossil fuel. Most climate activists are “taking action” by attending rallies and bombarding elected officials with public policy demands—without actually demonstrating how to use less fossil fuel themselves. Because so many people are so frustrated, climate rallies and lobbying efforts will continue, even if they never produce any tangible results.

On the other hand, making sustainable choices for infrastructure like heating systems and vehicles so they do not use fossil fuel and sustainable choices for plant-based diets so less fossil fuel is required to feed the world will reduce the production of fossil fuel by destroying demand. As political leaders have noted, progress on climate change must come from the demand side. That’s where we, as sustainability champions, can take effective action that will change public policy. We can show how clean energy and plant-based diets are practical pathways to a brighter future.

Sustainable Insights

Every other Wednesday we’re sharing our insights on a sustainability topic that’s in the news, making the connection between personal action and our sustainable future. We hope you’ll keep reading future editions to get our positive perspective on critical sustainability challenges that must be solved.