What really works to tackle the climate crisis? It’s time to build confidence in what works.
In this article we outline the six most promising approaches to reducing emissions and regenerating Earth. But we also ask: why has the climate movement failed to make a real dent in emissions so far? And what would it take to turn scattered efforts into real impact?
In the face of rising emissions and climate breakdown, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. The problem can seem impossibly big and the solutions frustratingly slow. But if we zoom out, something remarkable comes into focus: humanity already has the tools it needs to turn the tide.
Across the world, from boardrooms to backyards, in courtrooms and council chambers, people are creating change – some at lightning speed, others quietly, almost invisibly.
The climate emergency is not just a story of sacrifice or doom. It is a story of ingenuity, cooperation, and determination.
Here is a ranked list of those six approaches which represent the most promising and impactful endeavours humanity is undertaking right now to cut emissions and heal the Earth – based on evidence of what actually works and what is scaling.
‘Ranked’ meaning: the most important one for us all to push for is the one listed first, then follows the second most important, and so on.
None of these approaches alone is enough, but together, they show a pathway – already under our feet – to a liveable, just, and climatesafe future. They all reinforce each other:
1️⃣ Clean energy deployment
2️⃣ Policy and regulation – including court cases
3️⃣ Local community movements
4️⃣ Emerging tech and innovation
5️⃣ Behaviour and cultural change
6️⃣ Nature-based solutions
Pathway map
1. Rapid deployment of existing clean energy technology
Solar, wind, batteries, grid upgrades, EVs
Why this one on top? Because it’s already working, it’s economically competitive – cheaper than fossil fuels in most regions now – and has a track record of displacing emissions at scale.
→ Example: Solar PV costs have fallen more than 90% in 15 years, with wind and storage following. Renewable energy accounted for over 80% of new global power capacity additions in 2023–24.
→ Challenge: Policy and grid integration still lag behind.
2. Climate policy and legislation
Regulation, carbon pricing, litigation, court cases, bans
Governments setting standards and rules has a multiplier effect because it creates the conditions for other solutions to thrive.
→ Example: The US Inflation Reduction Act (2022) catalysed a clean-energy investment boom; European Green Deal; city-level bans on internal combustion engines; successful climate lawsuits in the Netherlands, Germany, Montana, etc.
→ Challenge: political will and opposition from entrenched interests.
3. Local and community-led action
“Small but mighty” movements and municipal leadership
Often underestimated, but remarkably effective in demonstrating models, changing norms, and applying bottom-up pressure.
→ Example: Transition Towns movement, indigenous-led land stewardship protecting forests, citizen assemblies recommending ambitious climate policies, cities like Copenhagen or Ithaca achieving steep reductions.
→ Strength: builds resilience and trust, catalyses wider change.
4. Innovation and emerging tech
Green hydrogen, synthetic fuels, better batteries, plant-based and cultured proteins
These can fill gaps and address sectors that are hard to decarbonise like steel, cement, aviation, shipping.
→ Example: Green hydrogen pilots in Europe and Australia; lab-grown meat reducing livestock emissions; ‘bio-plastic’ for wrapping food products.
→ Caveat: Most are still early-stage or expensive, and can’t replace reducing emissions outright – but they still may eventually unlock critical pathways.
→ Follow Cleantech Hub Geelong on Facebook to see examples from this field
5. Behaviour and culture shifts
Diets, mobility, sufficiency, degrowth
Changing individual and collective habits – like: flying less, eating more plant-based food, consuming less “stuff” – can lower emissions and build momentum for structural change.
→ Example: Plant-rich diets and food-waste reduction alone could cut 8–10% of global emissions.
→ Note: Requires social buy-in and often depends on enabling policies and infrastructure.
6. Nature-based solutions
Reforestation, wetland restoration, regenerative agriculture
These address carbon and biodiversity together while at the same time having co-benefits for water, soil, and human health.
→ Example: Large-scale mangrove restoration in Indonesia, regenerative farming sequestering carbon in soils.
→ Caveat: Land-use conflicts and permanence of carbon storage.
Also really important
- Climate finance and divestment – redirecting capital from fossil fuels into green projects
- Education and advocacy – raising climate literacy and inspiring political engagement, especially among youth
- Global cooperation – when it works (e.g., the Kigali Amendment to phase down HFCs)
The greatest near-term leverage lies in rapidly scaling what we already know works – namely, clean energy deployment combined with enabling policies and local action.
Emerging technologies and innovations are crucial for the “last mile” and for decarbonising the toughest sectors, whereas local community efforts and culture change are the “glue” – they maintain public support and keep pushing for politicians to do more.
The challenge before us is not a lack of solutions, but the courage and will to scale them quickly, fairly, and together. However, while these six pathways outlined above show us what works, they also expose a sobering truth: none of them have yet enabled humanity to shift the emissions trajectory.
In an era of Trumpism and a new wave of denial of the climate science, how do we create much stronger and faster action to shift the trajectory?
Diagnosis and prescription
From scattered to strategic – unlocking the real potential of the climate movement
First of all, we need to change our strategy. Our main challenge is – and has always been – inefficient and weak legislation that needs changing, combined with the energy and agricultural industries which persist on maintaining status quo and protecting their current business model and investments, regardless of the consequences.
Even though the global climate movement as a whole has been pointing to and advocating for each of the six pathways, the campaigning has not happened in a coordinated, strategic way – and as a result, until now, the climate action movement has had very few victories that show measurable impact on humanity’s global green house gas emissions.
After decades of activism, billions of dollars raised and spent, countless campaigns, petitions and rallies, global emissions continue to rise, and the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere climbs higher every year.
Why?
One major reason is that the climate movement – despite its passion and creativity – has been fractured and unfocused, characterised by lack of coordination, and the absence of a unifying, impactful strategy commensurate with the scale of the problem.
The problem: scattered efforts and diluted impact
Across the world, thousands of NGOs, grassroots campaigns, advocacy networks, and individuals are doing important work. But too often:
- Campaigns pursue narrow, local, or symbolic goals without linking them to systemic change.
- Organisations compete for attention and funding instead of collaborating.
- Energy is spent on internal debates or messaging purity rather than real-world outcomes.
- Efforts lack prioritisation and alignment, leaving the most impactful levers underutilised.
It is as if thousands of people are pushing in slightly different directions, and the sum of their force does not shift the boulder.
This is not to dismiss the hard work and dedication of activists, scientists, and advocates. Rather, it is to acknowledge that without a shared focus on the most effective pathways, even vast amounts of energy can fail to deliver meaningful change.
The solution: focus on the six pathways
To unlock its true power, the climate movement needs to shift from scattered advocacy to a coordinated push behind the most impactful strategies – the six pathways outlined above.
These pathways are not theoretical. They are already demonstrating results. By aligning campaigns, funding, and messaging around these proven levers, the movement can amplify its effectiveness dramatically.
For example:
- Instead of many small, disconnected projects, imagine a global coalition driving massive investment into clean energy and pressing governments to dismantle fossil fuel subsidies.
- Instead of competing narratives about personal behaviour change versus systemic reform, imagine both being woven together under a coherent story of collective responsibility.
- Instead of local wins being isolated, imagine them linked and scaled through networks to influence national and international policy.
A call to leaders of climate action organisations
Leadership is not about controlling every actor in the movement – it is about providing vision, alignment, and clarity about what matters most. The climate movement needs conveners who can articulate priorities, facilitate collaboration, and help activists, donors, and, importantly, citizens see where their efforts fit into the bigger picture.
This is not a time for splintering into ever-smaller factions or chasing every possible issue at once. This is a time to act strategically, together, with eyes on the pathways that truly bend the curve of emissions and restore the planet.
The potential of the climate movement is vast, but only if its many voices sing from the same sheet of music.
We already know the notes. The question now is: can we play them together, in harmony, loudly enough to change the course of history?
→ The Guardian – 21 July 2025:
‘Significant gap’ between Australian companies’ climate commitments and how they actually invest, analysts find
“Experts say the level of ambition in Labor’s upcoming 2035 emissions target will influence the capital decisions of many companies.”