The 10:10 campaign

Previously, I complained about how setting climate targets can actually impede action, by drawing attention towards numbers rather than action, and by giving people the false sense that we can delay change. The 10:10 campaign, which is being advanced by The Guardian, seems like a good idea. It aims to have individuals, companies and institutions reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 10% by the end of 2010. I like the near-term focus. While we ultimately need to begin a deep and long process of transition to carbon neutrality, the cuts we can make today will be the most valuable. That’s because anything we emit now will still be in the atmosphere by the time humanity is (hopefully) reaching carbon neutrality. We need to change the direction of emission change – from rising to falling – all around the world, as well as begin the institutional transformations that will be needed to sustain the fall all the way to the bottom.

Individual actions are not going to save us. That said, we desperately need to move from a mindset where we expect emissions reductions in 2025 from unknown technologies to one where we are constantly striving to drive our emissions to zero.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. Between 2005 and 2007 I completed an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. I worked for five years for the Canadian federal government, including completing the Accelerated Economist Training Program, and then completed a PhD in Political Science at the University of Toronto in 2023. View all posts by Milan