What Are the Solutions to Climate Change?

The single-most important thing that we can do to combat climate change is to drastically reduce our consumption of fossil fuels. The burning of coal, oil, and natural gas in our buildings, industrial processes, and transportation is responsible for the vast majority of emissions that are warming the planet—about 7 percent. In addition to altering the climate, dirty energy also comes with unacceptable ecological and human health impacts.

We must replace coal, oil, and gas with renewable and efficient energy sources. Thankfully, with each passing year, clean energy is making gains as technology improves and production costs go down. But according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report, in order to limit warming by 1.5° Celsius—which scientists tell us we must do if we’re to avoid the worst, deadliest impacts of climate change—we would need to sharply reduce global carbon emissions. Specifically, we’ll need to bring them down by at least 43 percent below 2019 levels before 2030. 

There are promising signs. Wind and solar continue to account for ever-larger shares of electricity generation. In 2025, wind and solar generation grew by 109 percent worldwide, surpassing coal for the first time. At the same time, the two top consumers of coal in the world, China and India, both saw declines in production, thanks to increased clean energy development. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects renewables will become the largest energy source by the end of the decade, accounting for 45 percent of all electricity generation. Clean energy generation even grew in the United States last year, despite the Trump administration’s best efforts to stop progress. 

Alongside developing renewables, we can also fully realize our clean energy potential if we invest in repairing our aging grid infrastructure and installing new transmission lines. While this transformation is taking place, clean vehicle advocates continue to fight for a future when the majority of vehicles on the road will produce zero emissions.

Energy efficiency has been referred to as “the first fuel”; after all, the more energy efficient our systems are, the less actual fuel we have to consume, whether rooftop solar energy or gas power. Considered this way, efficiency is our largest energy resource. As the technology harnessing it has advanced over the past 40 years, efficiency has contributed more to the United States’s energy needs than oil, coal, gas, or nuclear power.

What’s more, energy efficiency strategies can be applied across multiple sectors: in our power plants, electrical grids, factories, vehicles, buildings, home appliances, and more. Some of these climate-friendly strategies can be enormously complex, such as helping utility companies adopt performance-based regulation systems, in which they no longer make more money simply by selling more energy but rather by improving the services they provide. Other strategies are extraordinarily simple. For example, weatherproofing buildings, installing cool roofs, replacing boilers and air conditioners with super-efficient heat pumps, and yes, switching out light bulbs from incandescent to LED can all make a big dent in our energy consumption.

Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy is the key to winning the fight against climate change. Here are the most common sources of renewable energy—and one source of decidedly nonrenewable energy that often gets included (falsely) in the list.

Solar energy

Solar energy is produced when light from the sun is absorbed by photovoltaic cells and turned directly into electricity. The solar panels that you may have seen on rooftops or at ground level are made up of many of these cells working together. By 2030, an estimated 15 percent of U.S. homes are expected to have rooftop solar panels, which emit no greenhouse gases or other pollutants and which generate electricity year-round (in hot or cold weather) so long as the sun is shining. Solar energy currently accounts for around 7 percent of the electricity generated in the United States but is growing at a faster rate than any other source. The IEA estimates global renewable energy capacity will double by 2030, and 80 percent of that growth will be in the solar sector. 

What to do when the sun doesn’t shine, you might ask. Alongside the boom in solar has been a surge in companion battery storage, which is key to the clean energy revolution. Not only are batteries important at night when the sun isn’t out, but on hot days when homes draw a lot of electricity to power air conditioners, battery storage can help manage the energy demand and control the threat of power failures. The United States saw record growth in battery capacity in 2024, with power providers adding nearly 10.3 gigawatts of new storage. For reference, just a single gigawatt of energy is enough to power 100 million LED light bulbs.

Wind energy

Unlike solar panels, which convert the sun’s energy directly into electricity, wind turbines produce electricity more conventionally: wind turns the blades of a turbine, which spin a generator. Currently, wind accounts for just above 11 percent of U.S. electricity generation, but it, like solar, has grown fast in recent years due to its ability to produce 100 percent clean energy at a remarkably low cost. Unsurprisingly, states with plenty of wide-open space—including Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas—have huge capacity when it comes to wind power. Iowa produced nearly 65 percent of its energy from wind in 2024, the most out of any state. 

Many analysts believe that some of the greatest potential for wind energy exists just off our coasts. Offshore wind even tends to ramp up in the evenings when home electricity use jumps, and it can produce energy during the rainy and cloudy times when solar energy is less available. 

While industries have spread misinformation concerning wind and whales, there are no known links between offshore wind development and whale deaths. And extensive permitting requirements and protections are in place to ensure that any offshore activities do not harm protected species, like whales and other marine mammals.

Geothermal and hydroelectric energy

Along with sunlight and wind, water—under certain conditions—can also be a source of renewable energy. For instance, geothermal energy works by drilling deep underground and pumping extremely hot water up to the earth’s surface, where it is then converted to steam that, once pressurized, spins a generator to create electricity. Hydroelectric energy uses gravity to “pull” water downward through a pipe at high speeds and pressures; the force of this moving water is used to spin a generator’s rotor.

Humans have been harnessing heat energy from below the earth’s surface for eons—just think of the hot springs that provided warmth for the people of ancient Rome. Today’s geothermal plants are considered clean and renewable so long as the water and steam they bring up to the surface is redeposited underground after use. Proper siting of geothermal projects is also important, as recent science has linked some innovative approaches to geothermal to an increased risk of earthquakes.

Hydroelectric plants, when small-scale and carefully managed, represent a safe and renewable source of energy. Larger plants known as mega-dams, however, are highly problematic—their massive footprint can disrupt the rivers on which people and wildlife depend.

Biomass energy

With very few exceptions, generating electricity through the burning of organic material like wood (sourced largely from pine and hardwood forests in the United States), agricultural products, or animal waste—collectively referred to as biomass—does little to reduce carbon emissions, and in fact, does far more environmental harm than good. Given the ample evidence documenting the true toll of this form of bioenergy, some countries have recently stopped or slowed subsidies for these projects. In the United States, NRDC recently stopped a massive biomass project from expanding in California, but advocates will need to continue to hold the line.

Transportation is a top source of greenhouse gases (GHG), so eliminating pollution from the billions of vehicles driving across the planet is essential to achieving net-zero global emissions by 2050, a goal laid out in the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

In 2021, electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for nearly 9 percent of vehicle sales globally; that number jumped to more than 20 percent just three years later, surpassing 17 million sales worldwide. Governments investing in this transformation today aren’t just anticipating an all-electric future; they’re bringing it into fruition by setting goals and binding requirements to phase out the sale of gas-powered vehicles. This shift will also benefit our grid: EVs are like a “battery on wheels” and have the potential to supply electricity back to the network when demand peaks, helping to prevent blackouts.

It’s also critical that we consider all of the different ways we get around and build sustainability into each of them. By increasing access to public transportation—such as buses, ride-sharing services, subways, and streetcars—as well as embracing congestion pricing, we can cut down on car trips and keep millions of tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere every year. And by encouraging zero-emission forms of transportation, such as walking and biking, we can reduce emissions even more. Boosting these alternate forms of transportation will require more than just talk. They require funding, planning, and the building out of supportive infrastructure by leaders across the local, state, and national levels.

To address the full set of impacts of the transportation sector, we need holistic and community-led solutions around things like land-use policies and the way we move consumer goods. Communities closest to ports, truck corridors, rail yards, and warehouses are exposed to toxic diesel emissions and face a high risk of developing acute and chronic public health diseases. Like all climate solutions, long-lasting change in the transportation sector requires building the power of historically marginalized communities.

The energy used in our buildings—to keep the lights on and appliances running; to warm them and cool them; to cook and to heat water—makes them the single-largest source of carbon pollution in most cities across the United States. Making buildings more energy efficient, by upgrading windows and adding insulation to attics and walls, for example, will bring these numbers down. That’s why it’s all the more important that we raise public awareness of cost- and carbon-saving changes that individuals can make in their homes and workplaces, and make it easier for people to purchase and install energy-efficient technology, such as heat pumps (which can both heat and cool spaces) and other green appliances. Programs like Energy Star in the United States or EnerGuide in Canada have helped markets for these products grow while saving households massive amounts on their electricity bills.

Beyond the measures that can be taken by individuals, we need to see a dedication from private businesses and governments to further building decarbonization, which simply means making buildings more efficient and replacing fossil fuel–burning systems and appliances with clean-powered ones. Policy tools can help get us there, including city and state mandates that all newly constructed homes, offices, and other buildings be outfitted with efficient all-electric systems for heating, cooling, and hot water; requirements that municipalities and states meet the latest and most stringent energy conservation standards when adopting or updating their building codes would also be impactful.

Indeed, several U.S. states and cities, as well as many other countries around the world, are implementing building performance standards, which require existing buildings to reduce their energy use or carbon emissions over time. Most important, if these changes are going to reach the scale needed, we must invest in the affordable housing sector so that efficient and decarbonized homes are accessible to homeowners and renters of all incomes.

Some of our strongest allies in the fight against climate change are the trees, plants, and soil that store massive amounts of carbon at ground level or underground. Without the aid of these carbon sinks, life on earth would be impossible, as atmospheric temperatures would rise to levels more like those found on Venus.

But whenever we clearcut forests for timber or rip out wetlands for development, we release that climate-warming carbon into the air. Similarly, the widespread overuse of nitrogen-based fertilizers (a fossil fuel product) on cropland and generations of industrial-scale livestock farming practices have led to the release of unprecedented amounts of nitrous oxide and methane, powerful greenhouse gases, into our atmosphere.

We can’t plant new trees fast enough to replace the ones we clearcut in carbon-storing forests like the Canadian boreal or the Amazon rainforest—nor can rows of spindly young pines serve the same function as old-growth trees. We need a combination of responsible forestry policies, international pressure, and changes in consumer behavior to put an end to deforestation practices that not only accelerate climate change but also destroy wildlife habitat and threaten the health and culture of Indigenous communities that live sustainably in these verdant spaces. 

At the same time, we need to treat our managed landscapes with as much care as we treat wild ones. For instance, adopting practices associated with organic and regenerative agriculture—cover crops, pesticide use reduction, rotational grazing, and compost instead of synthetic fertilizers—will help nurture the soil, yield healthier foods, and pay a climate dividend too.

Intact ecosystems suck up and store vast amounts of carbon. Coastal ecosystems like wetlands and mangroves accumulate and store carbon in their roots; our forests soak up about a third of annual fossil fuel emissions; and freshwater wetlands hold between 20 and 30 percent of all the carbon found in the world’s soil. It’s clear we’re not going to be able to address climate change if we don’t preserve nature.

This is one reason why, along with preserving biodiversity, climate experts are calling on global leaders to fully protect and restore at least 30 percent of land, inland waters, and oceans by 2030, a strategy endorsed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. To help us reach that goal, we must limit industrial impacts on our public lands and waters, continue to protect natural landscapes, support the creation of marine protected areas, uphold bedrock environmental laws, and follow the lead of Indigenous Peoples, many of whom have been faithfully and sustainably stewarding lands and waters for millennia.

Heavy industry—the factories and facilities that produce our goods—were responsible for 30 percent of GHG emissions in the United States as of 2022. Most industrial emissions come from making a small set of carbon-intensive products: basic chemicals, iron and steel, cement, aluminum, glass, and paper. (Industrial plants are also often major sources of air and water pollutants that directly affect human health.)

Complicating matters is the fact that many industrial plants will stay in operation for decades, so emissions goals for, say 2050, are really just one investment cycle away. Given these long horizons for building and retrofitting industrial sites, starting investments and plans now is critical. What would successfully decarbonized industrial processes look like? They should sharply reduce heavy industry’s climate emissions, as well as local pollution. They should be scalable and widely available in the next decade, especially so that less developed nations can adopt these cleaner processes and grow without increasing emissions. And they should bolster manufacturing in a way that creates good jobs.

Technology alone won’t save us from climate change (especially not some of these risky geoengineering proposals). But at the same time, we won’t be able to solve the climate crisis without researching and developing things like longer-lasting EV batteries, nonpolluting hydrogen-based solutions, and reliable, safe, and equitable methods for capturing and sequestering carbon. Because, while these tools hold promise, we have to make sure we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. For instance, we can take actions to reduce local harms from mining lithium (a critical component of electric vehicle batteries), improve recycling opportunities for solar cells, and not use carbon capture as an excuse to pollute. To accelerate research and development, funding is the critical third leg of the stool: Governments must make investing in clean energy technologies a priority and spur innovation through grants, subsidies, tax incentives, and other rewards.

Alongside tackling the root causes of climate change, it is also important to think about climate adaptation solutions—learning how to live safely, to process our losses, and even to thrive on an already-changed planet. After all, raging storms, prolonged wildfires and droughts, and other climate impacts will continue to shape our world. 

Adaptation strategies can range far and wide, depending on the specific needs of the community. Enhancing the safety of workers grappling with extreme heat on the job, for example, will require widespread occupational heat standards. People facing increased wildfire risks should have access to air filters for their homes and public smoke shelters in their communities. Those living in hurricane-prone areas will need revamped infrastructure that can better withstand serious flooding events, such as modernized drainage systems or permeable pavements. Elected officials must also address our home insurance crisis and improve the voluntary buyout programs that help people move to higher ground. Governments need to start weaving adaptation needs like these into policies, programs, and investments in order to create resilient communities in the midst of the climate crisis. 

Finally, it should go without saying that we, as individuals, are key to solving the climate crisis—not just by continuing to lobby our legislators and speak up in our communities but also by taking climate actions in our daily lives. By switching off fossil fuels in our homes and being more mindful of the climate footprint of the food we eat, our shopping habits, how we get around, our use of plastics and fossil fuels, and what businesses we choose to support (or not to support), we can move the needle.

But it’s when we act collectively that real change happens—and we can do even more than cut down on carbon pollution. Communities banding together have fought back fracking, pipelines, and oil drilling in people’s backyards. These local wins aren’t just good news for our global climate but they also protect the right to clean air and clean water for everyone. After all, climate change may be a global crisis but climate action starts in your own hometown.

We have a responsibility to consider the implications of our choices—and to make sure that these choices are actually helping to reduce the burdens of climate change, not merely shifting them somewhere else. It’s important to remember that the impacts of climate change—which intersect with and intensify so many other environmental, economic, and social issues—fall disproportionately on certain communities, namely low-income communities and communities of color. That’s why our leaders have a responsibility to prioritize the needs of these communities when crafting climate policies. If those on the frontlines aren’t a part of conversations around climate solutions, or do not feel the benefits of things like cleaner air and better job opportunities, then we are not addressing the roots of the climate crisis.