Urban mining, or recycling and reusing everything from buildings to electronics to household waste, is a way to preserve the value of goods that would otherwise be thrown away. Nearly everything can be recycled: “Paint is dried up to make chalk, the rancid oils are processed into cosmetics, and old devices dismantled to recycle materials such as paper, plastics, metals […]
Espigoladors: Spain’s second chance for food, planet, and the socially excluded
In Spain, the art of gleaning – harvesting farmers’ unwanted crops – is feeding the hungry and creating employment for the socially excluded, while also reducing pressure on land use, reducing CO2 emissions, conserving water, improving diets, and changing society’s perception of food waste. Finding treasure in waste helps people and climate Espigoladors contributes to the […]
Climate Solutions Help Communities Even After Disaster Hits
From bicycles and buses that keep people and goods moving after a disaster to solar energy that keeps businesses running, investments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions are also providing disaster resilience around the world. After the devastation caused by the powerful earthquake that hit Mexico City in September, the city’s bus rapid transit lanes, bike-sharing […]
Hurricane Harvey and the Case for Multisolving
Extreme weather events are causing suffering around the world. Multisolving solutions that target both climate change and flood risk can help. Last week, we heard news of massive floods causing untold damage and killing and displacing thousands of people around the world, in the southern United States, South Asia, West Africa, and Yemen. These conditions […]
Top 11 Reasons for Climate Hope
We know there’s been a lot of bad news on climate change lately. But there is plenty of good news too, and we think it’s just as urgent that people hear the good that is happening around the globe. Recognizing the progress the world has made keeps us hopeful and avoids the feeling of helplessness […]
How To Ensure that Everyone Has Access to Affordable, Clean Energy
Although it might sound contradictory, it is possible to both reduce carbon emissions and improve access to affordable energy. Below is a collection of resources to help us multisolve and accomplish both goals. Billions of people in the developing world are energy poor – they lack access to electricity and clean cooking facilities. In the […]
How To Create Good Jobs at Fair Wages – And Help the Climate
Transitioning away from fossil fuels to renewable energy is a way to both mitigate climate change and create jobs. We are collecting resources to spread the word and help this process benefit as many people as possible. Multisolving won’t happen by accident, and our goal is to make it a more accessible and widespread practice. […]
Working With Others to Achieve Climate Co-Benefits: 5 Things to Remember
Multisolving is by nature a complex process. Here are five important elements to keep in mind. Any effort that mitigates climate change while providing other benefits, like bike paths that reduce emissions from cars and encourage physical activity, is an example of multisolving. We are encouraging policymakers and communities to multisolve for a variety of reasons, but effective multisolving […]
Achieving Multiple Benefits Requires Multiple Perspectives
As we meet leaders who are multisolving in their communities, and as we work in Atlanta with a group of community leaders on a project focused on equity and green infrastructure, we are learning that the ‘multi’ in multisolving refers to more than just solving several problems at the same time. In addition to solving […]
Why We Multisolve – Emphasizing Co-Benefits in Addressing Climate Change
Policies that work to mitigate climate change can also produce other co-benefits. For example, planting trees in urban areas sequesters carbon dioxide emissions while simultaneously reducing air pollution, beautifying the area, reducing energy use, and stifling noise, among other benefits. With this one investment we can make strides in climate change mitigation, public health, and […]