Project Drawdown

Project Drawdown brought me hope when I was facing the enormity of climate change implications. It also offered structure and credibility to something that seemed complex and hopeless. And so when it came to becoming an eco-citizen I decided I would use it as a template and framework for my focus on supporting large change in the world.

Project Drawdown was conceived in 2013 in response to a series of alarming scientific articles on the outlook for our planet. By 2017 it had become a book, which was where I discovered it. Project Drawdown is now a vibrant, not for profit organisation with a mission to:

“Help the world reach “Drawdown”— the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline, thereby stopping catastrophic climate change — as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.”

While it obviously has a global perspective, Drawdown is an American organisation and it feels American when you interact with it. I’m ok with that though. As I write this I’m reading Barack Obama’s presidential memoirs and he makes the point that it is hard to imagine us fixing the problem without American commitment and leadership.

The plan described by Project Drawdown is not really a plan, more a list of solutions for solving the problems we face. Eighty solutions have been described and quantified in terms of their impact and cost. These are things that have already been applied already to some degree and where the science and finance is fully understood and accepted. Most of these solutions are about scaling up, or reprioritising investment choices. A further twenty solutions have been described in a chapter at the end of the book called Coming Attractions. These solutions provide “a window into what is forthcoming and close at hand”.

The eighty quantified solutions are broken down into sections:

• Energy

• Food

• Women and Girls

• Building and Cities

• Land Use

• Transport

• Materials

Many of the solutions are very well know, such as off-shore wind power, heat pumps. Others are more obscure, for instance Biochar. Some are really surprising, like educating girls. And others are controversial, such as nuclear. The point is that the research has been done and the writers seem to know the strengths and weaknesses, the costs and benefits, the short- vs long-term implications.

I found the book very helpful indeed. Firstly, it just helped me understand more about the size and shape of both the problem and the possible answer. I’ve found this rerally useful when reading other material on the environment. Secondly, it helped me get my mindset into a better, more hopeful place. I have no idea whether Drawdown will become a reality - how can any of us? – but it has enough credibility to give me hope and some faith. Thirdly, it gave me some useful things I could actually contribute to, such as changes I can make at home, or what I could help campaign for, or how to invest my savings.

I intend featuring Project Drawdown and its solutions regularly and significantly in the Supporting Large Changes in the World category of these resources. I hope by sharing my perspective on these things I can help you in your own journey to becoming an eco-citizen.