WHat You Can Do

Feeling overwhelmed?

Can small individual actions really make any difference in the face of such complex and urgent environmental problems?

We have to recognise that we cannot as individuals solve the climate and biodiversity crises, and we shouldn't beat ourselves up about this.

Shifting the 'blame' for climate change to consumers and individuals, who are relatively powerless, has been a great tactic for deflecting attention from the fact that Big Oil is doubling down on fossil fuel production and raking in billions in the process. It is very telling that the world's first carbon calculator was developed by oil giant BP!

However, while ambitious action is undoubtedly needed from governments and industry, bottom-up change is crucial too. It can feel very hard not to lose hope, but if enough of us clearly signal to our leaders that we want to see positive change, this can have a huge cumulative impact.

The challenge ahead cannot be underestimated. That’s why we all need to stay positive, stay engaged, and encourage everyone around us too. 

Our films are a great springboard to start conversations and get communities and individuals motivated to work together on the issues most relevant to them.

If you would like us to come out and run a screening and discussion event in your local community, organisation or school, please get in touch!

What ELSE can I do?

As an individual, you can find vast amounts of resources online about how to cut your environmental footprint. You could check out a carbon calculator such as Giki Zero. See what impact you're already having - and challenge yourself to see how much more lightly you could tread!

Some things will be challenging, for example it is hard to go car-free if you live in a rural area with poor public transport connections. Many other smaller but simpler steps could make a difference if adopted widely – for example changing your search engine to Ecosia, eating more local, seasonal food, turning your garden into a refuge for wildlife or switching to a renewable energy supplier.

However, one of the most important things we can do is look at our finances.

Since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed in 2015, the world's banks and pension funds have financed climate-wrecking fossil fuel projects to the tune of over £3 trillion.

Cumulatively, our pensions, bank accounts and savings are worth billions - which could make a huge difference if taken out of harmful investments and used to fund renewables and other positive technologies. In fact, changing your pension provider could have over 20 times the climate impact of giving up meat or flying, changing your energy supplier etc.

Visit Make My Money Matter and Switch It to find out more about what your money is really doing - and how to switch, hassle free, to help fund a more positive future.

Want to take things further…?

• Use your voice. Write to your MP and local councillor to stress your feelings about the climate and ecological crisis. Don’t be deterred if you get a disappointing response from them. Even if you are too young to vote, remind them that one day soon you will be 18, and you will be voting for candidates with the strongest programme on environment and climate.
• Find out about local climate groups or green organisations and see how you can get involved, support or volunteer with them.
• Educate and inspire yourself with great climate change podcasts such as Planet: Critical, Accidental Gods, So Hot Right Now, or Outrage and Optimism. Read empowering books such as The Future We Choose by Christiana Figueres. Subscribe to Carbon Brief to stay up to date with the latest climate science and news.
• You could even consider what happens at the very beginning and end of life too. One of the biggest impacts you can have is by choosing to have fewer children - while after death a green woodland burial has a much smaller carbon footprint than cremation. Some companies even offer more extreme options, such as body composting!