Some climate resolutions to consider in the New Year

With the New Year fast approaching, many of us are starting to think of their resolutions. Every year, millions of people vow to get fitter, or eat better, but only 8% of people see their resolutions through the whole year. It has been proved that choosing more specific resolutions, can increase your chances of actually sticking to them. Now more than ever before, people are thinking of resolutions to help reduce the impact they are having on the climate crisis. Here are some ideas of small changes you could implement in your life to start the New Year in a more environmentally friendly and conscious way! 

Implementing changes in your diet

Reducing our meat and dairy consumption can massively reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we produce. However, changing your diet completely is not the only way you can make an impact. A UK based non-profit organisation called Veganuary encourages people to go vegan for the month of January, in the hope of teaching them about how a vegan diet can be fun and easy. To support participants, they send out a downloadable starter kit as well as daily emails full of encouragement. 

Every little change we make results in a big collective impact

A less drastic initiative that many are planning to take into the New Year is ‘Meat Free Mondays’.  This campaign encourages people to give up meat for just one day a week. This not only helps to reduce your contribution to carbon emissions but will also be good for your health! 

Saying no to unnecessary plastic 

Plastic is all around us, yet there are so many different ways in which we can reduce the amount of it we use. Considering the fact that plastic bags are the second most common form of litter, after cigarette butts, a resolution could be to bring a reusable tote bag every time you go shopping. This will help to reduce your contribution to ocean pollution and the millions of deaths of sea mammals every year. Not only this, but there are now cheap and biodegradable alternatives to small plastic bags used for picking your own fruit and veg!

Avoiding fast fashion

With the fashion industry being the second most polluting industry in the world, it is important to think more consciously about the clothes we buy. Whilst it can be easy to fall into the routine of buying cheap clothes, this is extremely damaging to our environment for a number of reasons, including the modern slavery that goes on inside the clothes factories. It has been estimated that we globally consume around 80 billion pieces of new clothing every year. This is 400% more than just two decades ago! Of course, we as students can’t always afford to buy ethically sourced high quality clothes, but visiting thrift stores more often or even organising a clothes exchange amongst your friends can go a long way to help! 

Now more than ever before, people are thinking of resolutions to help reduce the impact they are having on the climate crisis

Reusable containers

Bringing your own reusable coffee cup, water bottle or Tupperware box can help to reduce the amount of plastic waste produced by single use plastic containers in our day to day lives. Not only this but you can be saving money by getting discounts at coffee shops, or simply refilling your water bottle for free. With 20 billion plastic water bottles ending up in landfill every year, bringing your own could drastically reduce the global impact this is having on our planet. 

Although some people aim to make drastic changes, such as going vegan completely overnight, every little change we make results in a big collective impact. If we all made one eco-friendly resolution this year, the next decade would be a better place for us all.