The United Nations report on climate change released this week contains some dire news for humanity: It says we have less than two decades and plenty of hard work ahead to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid catastrophic consequences to the planet. In response to the report, some outlets have made lists of what individuals can do to personally combat climate change, from limiting their meat consumption to carpooling or taking public transportation. Others, however, have argued that individual consumption changes are futile since 70 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions can be traced back to 100 companies, according to a 2017 “Carbon Majors” report by the Climate Accountability Institute.
Both arguments make sense. Individual consumers can’t be blamed for our rising global temperatures — but people want to feel like they’re doing something, no matter how small, to prevent the worst-case climate catastrophe scenario from unfolding. I spoke to Richard Heede, the co-founder and co-director of the Climate Accountability Institute, which produced the Carbon Majors report, about the companies that played the biggest part in creating our current situation and what role, if any, individuals have in determining our future. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.
