Individual Action

There’s a lot you can do to accelerate climate action.

Bar graph titled "Top 10 Options for Reducing your Carbon Footprint"

Commit to saving one ton of carbon emissions per year.

Individual action refers to changes in behavior that an individual can make to reduce their carbon footprint. This includes changing one’s transportation habits, food choices, and consumption behaviors.

Saving at least one ton of carbon emissions per year is a meaningful target for each of us, and one that is in line with the Paris Agreement to keep the global temperature with safe limits.

The figure on the left shows the ten highest-impact actions many of us can take to reduce our personal carbon emissions (Ivanova et al., 2020). In total, for the median American, they account for over 12 tons of carbon emissions per year.

All that’s left is for you to decide how you want to change your lifestyle to emit one less ton per year. Check out the Cool Climate Calculator to make and track your commitment.

Commit Now

Talk about climate change.

One of the most effective actions you can take as an individual is to bring up global warming in conversation with friends and family. The more people know others care about the problem, the more likely they are to care, too.

Americans who hear others talk about global warming at least once a month have higher levels of perceived collective political efficacy than those who hear others talk about global warming less often.

- Badullovich et al. (2024)

Get Involved.

Join Behavior and Climate Interest Groups

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Behavior Analysis for Sustainable Societies

Behavior Analysis for Sustainable Societies (BASS) is a special interest group of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI). BASS serves to advance the application of the science of behavior to environmental issues and contribute to the development of solutions to climate change.

Learn More

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Behaviorists for Social Responsibility

The mission of Behaviorists for Social Responsibility (BSFR) is to act to expand applications of behavior analysis and cultural analysis addressing social issues, including social justice, human rights, and environmental implications. This special interest group makes a preliminary response to B.F. Skinner’s rhetorical question, “Why are we not acting to save the world?”