As part of the For the Love of Creation campaign, you are invited to take action to reduce your personal or household greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and/or engage in acts of solidarity with justice-seeking communities.
Download & print your pledge card, write your pledge, and then post a selfie with your pledge on social media.
Personal Action Ideas
… to reduce household emissions
While actions by government, industry, and other large emitters will have the most impacts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, personal and household actions are also very important. These actions signal to leaders and the market that we are ready to adopt and advocate for a low-carbon lifestyle and will favour political leaders and products in the economy that align with our priorities.
Personal and household actions vary in terms of their impact on greenhouse gas emissions. We provide a list of ideas below starting with those that have the highest impact:
- Live car free (walk, bike or use public transit)
- Avoid or eliminate air travel
- Divest from fossil fuels
- Buy green energy (install solar panels or purchase green energy)
- Drive a more efficient car (i.e., electric or hybrid)
- Eat a plant-based diet
- Reduce energy use
- Reduce consumption (Buy less, buy used, buy local)
- Wash clothes in cold water and hang to dry
- Improve home energy efficiency (i.e., upgrade windows, doors and insulation, buy EnergyStar appliances, switch to LED light bulbs,etc.)
- Recycle
- Eat local and in season
- Conserve water
- Compost
- Plant a tree
- Purchase carbon offsets
- Reduce single-use plastics in your life
- Plant a food or pollinator garden
- Support eco-friendly businesses
…to build relationships and practice reconciliation
This is a critical decade for climate action and while we need to take swift and bold actions now to maintain global temperatures to 1.5℃, we must do so in a way that addresses inequalities, reinforces human rights and builds resilience in communities. We can all play a part in achieving climate justice – by working for reconciliation, rebuilding our own relationship with the earth, standing in solidarity with marginalized communities, amplifying the voices of youth, and much more.
We encourage you to explore some of the options below for promoting climate justice and decolonization, and honouring Indigenous rights. While taking any one of these actions will be a positive step, we encourage you to consider multiple actions. Reconciliation is a lifelong journey of learning and unlearning which cannot be achieved by a singular action.
- Learn more about the treaty (or nation-to-nation) history of your region from both the Indigenous and settler experiences
- Learn the territorial acknowledgement for the land on which you reside and consider moments in your work, worship or everyday life where you can acknowledge the territory with others
- Read the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Study and learn more about the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
- Support Indigenous land defenders and water protectors
- Support Indigenous-owned business and initiatives
- Learn about your local watershed and the issues related to its protection
- Learn about the Indigenous names for the places and bodies of water where you live
Additional resources
- Reducing your carbon footprint (2020)
- 7 Ways Youth Can Reduce their Ecological Footprint (2019)
- Personal choices to reduce your contribution to climate change (2017)
- 9 ways to reduce your GHG footprint (2016)
- What is a Tonne of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (2016)
- Strength for Climbing: Steps on the Journey of Reconciliation (2015)
- Resources for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Understanding Bill C-15 (2021)
- Guide to Acknowledging First Peoples & Traditional Territory
Thank you for taking action For the Love of Creation!
Please write to our elected representatives and encourage them to do the same.