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Green is the new black. Or we really want to think so. There's been so much progress in the last year across the board relating to climate to help us have deep hope that we're all living through a major shift. It's important to remember it's still early in this, and that decarbonizing the global economy is not something we can achieve overnight.
Of course, there's also been setbacks and other less-than-inspiring news this year, like 2023 being the hottest year globally since records began. Ever.
It's in that context that we're here to talk about the hidden planet-heating carbon lurking in everything we buy, use, or do. No-one asked for the carbon dioxide to be in there, but it is! And we can do something about it.
We do this every year around Black Friday and the upcoming frenzy for the holidays. Persistence. Is. Key. As is the science. As is seeing that, by tackling the cause of climate change, it holds a huge amount of potential that we also make everyone's lives better too. We completely believe that's possible and true.
Did you know how much we spent worldwide towards online shopping last Black Friday? A staggering US$65.3 billion. Yet 60% of consumers regret their Black Friday purchase... yikes!
For the whole holiday season it's about US$1.14 trillion. For the economists out there, that's about 1.2% of global annual GDP.
Carbon dioxide - and other planet-heating gases - are in every part of (pretty much) every product across it's whole lifecycle from production, use to disposal. These small amounts add up to contribute to all of our emissions each year.
They may not seem like much - a few grams or kilograms here and there - but across millions and billions of people they are. They represent a large chunk of annual carbon emissions that it's necessary to reduce. Or, if we can't reduce them, we're going to need to remove them from the atmosphere. There's no point arguing with us on this, it's physics.
What we choose to buy and the decisions we make everyday are meaningful in tackling the cause of climate change - our widespread and entrenched use of fossil fuels - from human activity.
Sure, companies have much bigger reach and size to reduce emissions, though if they don't think you are interested, many (not all) will just choose to do little or nothing, particularly when they are not necessarily legally obliged to. Some will even try to convince us they are doing something that they're not. We know, that attitude sucks - and that's just the stage we're currently at - so it's on all of us to nudge them to change it.
And we can do that, every day.
We agree it's a big challenge. It's also an opportunity to reimagine and reinvent pretty much everything that humans do, value and create. That's both incredibly exciting as well as, sometimes, an overwhelming burden to carry.
It can feel that, no-matter what we do it's too big, too complex, to tackle. Simply too damn hard to make a meaningful difference, to make a dent in the 50 billion tonnes per year we collectively need to stop pumping out each year.
This feeling is absolutely normal. Sometimes we feel the same way. It's a natural reaction. Choosing a way to act that suits you is a way to turn that powerlessness in the face of something enormous, into a positive action. To create your own agency and become a part of the answer.
It's not your fault there's planet heating gases in everything, but you can do something about it.
Small things can have big ripples. Zopeful is an example of that. When we started out on this adventure in no way did we expect to reach thousands of people in over 70 countries. Yet it happened, and here we are 2.5 years later.
Here at Zopeful we actively advocate for deeper decarbonization - reducing the carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) being released each day, week, year - in line with what the science says we need to slow, stop and then reverse the global increases in temperature which cause so many impacts to humans as well as everything else that lives with us on the planet. This is about 90% of the work.
We are also clear-eyed and see that, while we fully expect annual emissions to decrease between now and 2050, these reductions will not be enough on their own. We also need to take out some of carbon dioxide released over the last 200 years from the atmosphere. Drawing down some of those historical emissions that are causing the heating and escalating severe climate events we're already seeing more and more.
To do this a key tool to rollout at scale is Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). Some of the solutions are things we all know and love, and others are new and growing. No one type is a silver bullet that will be big enough. We need them all, and then more. CDR is the crucial last 10% of the work, and without it it's unlikely we'll ever achieve net zero or be able to reverse the heating that's already happened.
Between now and 2050 Carbon Removal needs to scale to between 5 to 10 billion tonnes of annual capacity. Embedding solutions that actively, and measurably, remove CO2 from the atmosphere into as many things humans do feels an important step in the right direction on this journey. Doing so holds the potential to turn the embodied carbon issue on it's head - instead of releasing new emissions, things we choose to do will remove them.
That's why we've made our Carbon Removal Portfolio-1 to make researching, purchasing and managing CDR super easy, trustful and accessible to all. Absolutely, it's complex stuff, but that doesn't mean it needs to be complicated.
We've partnered with amazing, world-leading, carbon removal providers to make this happen.
This Black Friday, join us as we put our money towards high-quality, science-backed, carbon removal projects.
A little or a lot, every tonne (or kg) matters.
Drop by our dedicated Black Friday 2023 - Carbon Removal page to find out more, and how you can take planet-heating carbon out of the atmosphere and store it for hundreds or thousands of years!
Whether you're a person looking to contribute, or a company wanting to add permanent removals to your programs, everyone is welcome.
Have hope, make progress 💚
Team Zopeful
Whether you’re in the market for the latest tech gadget, a wardrobe makeover or booking a much-needed holiday, there is planet-heating carbon hidden in everything we buy, consume and do.
No-one asked for it to be there, but there it definitely is!
This Black Friday & holiday season, we encourage everyone to be more intentional in the things they choose to purchase and to join us as we put our money towards high-quality, science-backed, carbon removal projects.
Have hope, make progress 💚
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