Take Climate Action

Climate change is a problem with global scale. It will require everyone to change their behaviors, and it will require large shifts in our economy and our infrastructure. Individuals can’t be responsible for everything, but everyone can do something! 

How You Can Take Action

You can start by making small, sustainable changes in your daily life.

Two women riding Citrix bicycles with a GoRaleigh bus in the background
A bee getting pollen from a pink bee balm flower
  • Support pollinators and local wildlife by planting native wildflowers
  • Start composting your food waste
  • Prepare your home and your family for emergencies and disasters 
  • And so much more! 

Small changes add up to big impacts over time. The City of Raleigh has resources and staff to help Raleigh residents adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. 

What are Mitigation and Adaption?

The term “climate action” can mean activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions—also known as mitigation—and activities that help prepare our community for the effects of climate change—also known as adaptation or resilience.   
 
Mitigation Activities 
Mitigation activities reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a number of ways:   

solar far at twilight
  • Changing the type of energy we use. This means transitioning our energy supply from fossil fuels to renewable sources like solar and wind power. This creates a supply of energy to support human activities and does not generate emissions that contribute to climate change.  
  • Reducing the amount of energy required to do something. This is known as energy efficiency: doing the same work with less energy. An example of this is sealing air leaks in a house to reduce how much heated or cooled air escapes the building and reduces the amount of energy it takes to heat or cool it over time.   
  • Doing fewer things that emit greenhouse gases. This is known as energy conservation. An example of this is cycling or walking instead of driving to reduce tailpipe emissions, which are a big contributor of greenhouse gases.      
  • Creating and preserving carbon sinks. This includes tree planting and green space preservation to take advantage of natural sources of carbon sequestration.  

Adaptation Activities
Adaptation and resilience activities help to prepare people, buildings and infrastructure for changing conditions. Adaptation and resilience actions take three approaches  

  • Reducing exposure to climate hazards: Moving people, buildings and infrastructure out of affected areas.   
  • Reducing sensitivity to climate hazards: Increasing the ability of buildings and infrastructure to withstand climate impacts.   
  • Increasing adaptive capacity: Working with communities to transfer the skills and resources necessary to prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related risks.   

More information on resilience initiatives in Raleigh can be found here.    

In all the climate work we do, we take into account climate equity to understand how the impacts of climate change and climate action will be felt by everyone in our community.