Any proposed “solution” is a response to a “problem.” How you define a problem will determine what solutions are relevant and possible.
Here we describe 10 problems related to the climate crisis. Each problem is linked to a document that describes some solutions that have been proposed for that problem.
Not everyone will agree that any particular solution is (or is not) a “real” solution to the problem described. This disagreement can produce vigorous debate based on verifiable facts and reasoned judgment. Ideally, that is how solutions are chosen in a democracy.
Please send comments, corrections, and suggestions to moreinfo@sehn.org.
Solutions
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Environmental Justice and Intergenerational Justice
The climate crisis is first and foremost a problem of justice. Disadvantaged individuals and communities are being disproportionately impoverished, sickened and killed by a climate crisis they did little or nothing to create. Furthermore, young people’s future is being sacrificed by fossil fuel executives and the politicians they dominate..
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Fossil fuel emissions must be eliminated rapidly to prevent climate collapse
Numerous authoritative studies and agencies have concluded that fossil fuel emissions must be eliminated very rapidly as the top priority. Is it possible?
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Labor Justice
As fossil fuels are phased out to prevent climate collapse, workers who build, operate and maintain the fossil fuel infrastructure will need a real, robust “just transition” so they, their families, and their communities can thrive.
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Ocean Acidification
Excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has mixed with ocean water, making it 30 percent more acidic (compared to pre-industrial conditions), disrupting ocean life on a grand scale until the acidity is reversed.
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Carbon dioxide (CO2) must be removed from the atmosphere to restore climate to a safe condition
Even after greenhouse gas emissions cease, legacy CO2 will reside in the atmosphere for a very long time, continuing to produce all the effects of the climate crisis until the CO2 is removed.
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Fossil fuel executives say CCS and EOR will eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, allowing continued use of “green” fossil fuels
Fossil fuel executives say carbon capture and storage (CCS), enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and associated pipelines, subsidized with public money, will keep oil and gas corporations profitable while eliminating greenhouse gas emissions.
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Greenhouse gas “offsets” promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions
“Carbon offsets” and “carbon credits” are schemes to pay someone else to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions so your own emissions can continue.
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Hydrogen production is proposed to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions
Large-scale hydrogen “hubs” are being proposed as a way to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.
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The economies of many nations depend on the sale of fossil fuels and might collapse if that income rapidly disappears.
Climate change is a global problem and carbon dioxide emissions will have to be eliminated worldwide. Many nations depend on income from fossil fuels, so their needs will have to be met in other ways.
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The climate crisis is part of a larger set of “global catastrophic risks” variously labeled the Polycrisis, The 6th Extinction, and Overshoot.
Impending climate collapse is one serious global problem among several, which some experts say can only be solved by considering all of them together.