The climate situation is very serious and is basically NOT complex to understand at all, if properly explained.
There are today no simple ways or “tools” for a person to take efficient climate action.
WE SHOULD MAKE IT EASY TO UNDERSTAND THE CLIMATE ISSUE
AND EASY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
Imagine having access to a platform, a web site, where it is easy:
- to find climate friendly products, not being more expensive than “regular” products,
- to easily calculate emissions caused by your travelling, energy consumption, daily consumption (food, products, services..), unique occasions such as wedding etc,
- to easily and at reasonable price compensate for your own emissions – even the small ones,
- to choose to what type of emission compensation activities your contributions should be directed (planting trees, small scale wind/water power, cooking stoves in developing countries etc),
- to actually be able to see the effects of the total contributions (for compensating for greenhouse gas emissions) made by you and also by you together with all others of the general public,
- to find simplified explanations on what is happening to the climate and why.
The platform should also include well designed, climate related games and special offers from companies.
THE CONCEPT
Our aim is to, as a non-profit organization, create a platform for you (as a person of the general public) to be able to easily find climate related information and to live climate friendly – at any degree you choose (from just learning a bit more about climate change to be guided to minimize your emissions and compensate for all emissions that you cannot avoid).
You should at any point in time be able to see HOW MUCH has been generated in emission compensation and TO WHAT type of projects the money generated has been channeled – based on the choice by you and by others, paying for the emission compensations.
This is totally possible! There are simply a number of activities/items that need to be created (a database of climate friendly products, possibility to at reasonable price support projects for emission compensation, etc – see details of ten activities outlined below in this document). Once these items are independently established, they are linked together on the web site with the IT platform and ... TA-DAA! You have a place to go for your climate actions, seeking information and climate friendly products, for evaluating impact and for compensation of your emissions that cannot be avoided.
This concept FOCUSES ON YOU as a member of the general public, but will indirectly also provide motivation for industry and for politicians to take efficient climate action.
INDUSTRY: As part of this project, we will invite companies to select and offer one or several "climate-neutral" products. Adviced by emission audit experts, they find out what emissions are caused by the selected product(s), and are then guided to minimize these emissions, to set a plan for further reduction and to compensate for emissions that cannot be avoided.
After evaluating that the products with this climate friendliness really sell more, the companies can expand this service to cover more products. This is of course assuming that our concept is successful in creating a demand for products that are causing little or no greenhouse gas emissions.
POLITICIANS: There are already plenty of good political climate policies and long term targets being discussed and also implemented. With the increasing climate awareness created by this concept among the (voters of the) general public, politicians on all levels would be stimulated to take real action and to support real efforts to combat global warming by ACTUALLY REDUCING emissions. Also this would have a great positive impact against climate change!
YOU CAN PARTICIPATE
.. in “saving the world” from dramatic climate change by supporting this initiative to create the intended PLATFORM FOR YOU (for the general public) for taking efficient climate action.
This crowd funding project is intended to raise the basic capital (set at EUR 15000) for getting started (meeting with and engaging the stake holders needed for the ten key activities) and to show that there is an interest in this type of platform.
We expect that it will take a year to complete this project. The overall intention is to, as a next step, be able to launch a pilot version of the platform on internet in 2018. This will be launched via social media for global participation, and with an organized, special effort in Sweden (student committees at universities etc.), and maybe in one more country.
SERIOUSLY, CAN IT BE DONE?
Of course it can! In short, what is needed is to see that (if) people have an interest in a platform (web site) where it is:
- easy to find information on climate friendly products and on climate change itself,
- easy to evaluate effects of different choices of action (travelling, heating of house, eating different meals etc) and
- easy to compensate for the small emissions of a household (which jointly with others add up to a lot).
The primary purpose of this crowd funding project is to engage the actors (companies, universities, organizations, key persons) needed for the ten key activities defined, and to start structuring the items of the platform.
With the proven support from the general public (from you), we can attract professional funders. Their financial support will help us to move on into the more expensive stages and the completion of the platform.
An important function of this platform will be to provide people with a way to easily find climate friendly products (that do not cost more). This means that there will be a financial interest for industry to reduce their emissions ( in order to be included in the database and thereby to sell more).
NON PROFIT
In order to optimize the positive climate effect of this concept, administrative costs for creating, implementing and operating this concept shall be kept at a minimum.
The concept will be established as a non-profit organization (likely as a foundation), possibly in the future integrated in an existing climate related foundation - PROVIDED THAT its focus remains to be YOUR (the general public's) platform for climate action. This, because empowering you as consumer can change the trend of global warming!
LET'S DO THIS!,
We need your support NOW, in order to get the initial capital to launch this project! You need to commit to support the project last by end of April. You find more info below. So, please join us in the funding of getting the basic structure in place to support the creation of My Climate Action Hub.
Do it now!
If you like the concept, please share info of this project (www.StartSomeGood.com/projects/my-climate-action-hub) on your networks, and especially to friends that are concerned about climate change. The crowd funding will be open until the end of April 2017.
If you have questions around the concept or the crowd funding project, please feel free to contact me.
Warm regards
Richard Mattus, founder
PS: The web site is not yet developed (being the purpose of the Project), but it is redirected to the web site of ReCapture Foundation, which before this project was the working name for the concept. So, keeping this in mind, please check out www.MyClimateActionHub.org
====================================================================
The ten key activities of this project are:
- Database of climate friendly products. This includes to (a) Engage companies, who select one or more products to be made climate
friendly, (b) Connect companies to certified GreenHouse Gas emissions auditing company, (c) Gather info on products already being formally confirmed to be climate friendly and (d) Structure database (to the extent that the amount of money generated by this crowd funding allows for that). - Define structure of IT Platform, which should be easy to operate, and prepared to be globally accessible. This includes to (a) Evaluate best way(s) to convey climate understanding, (b) Develop info and identify suitable links, (c) Define what APP’s should be developed to support the general public and (d) Start structuring the IT Platform (how far depends on amount of funding generated).
- Possibility to pay for compensation/reduction of single tons of CO2
emission - Evaluate how this can be done at reasonable price (today not possible) and via smartphone. Based on your registered profile, the small contributions will
be channeled to your chosen type of projects. These projects shall be supported by entrusted scientific experts, advising what type of projects that really make sense from a climate perspective. - Possibility to pay for compensation/reduction of very small CO2 emissions (kilos and grams) - Evaluate if and how this can be done.
- Feedback on how much CO2-emission compensation/reduction has been paid for and in what type of projects, presented as by you as individual and jointly as by all general public - Evaluate if and how this can be done.
- Establish student committees at universities (to spear head later concept launch - and to stimulate local climate action).
- Establish cooperation with NGO’s (Non Governmental Organizations) to coordinate good climate initiatives.
- Marketing - Develop logotype, draft Story Board for video to spread climate action engagement.
- Games - Encourage good quality, amusing games as playful ways of communicating information on climate change.
- Professional sponsors - Engage to secure financing of more expensive items such as completion of data base and IT platform and of a large scale pilot trial, intended for launch in 2018.
When the climate action platform is operational, companies can be invited to make special offers to users, thereby promoting climate action interest (and building their own goodwill).
Language will be English, to allow for visitors and participants globally to take part also at the pilot stage. The IT platform it is be designed in a way to prepare for use as a multilingual, global platform.
FUTURE OUTLOOK
Considering the lack of real emission reduction action today, when projects globally reducing as little as 30 thousand tons (of CO2 emissions) have been highlighted, this concept, combining the efforts of many small actions by many persons fo the general public, can quickly become an important global actor against climate change.
Let's do something REAL against climate change!
Let's do it now!
