Solar Tribune: Governments vs. Corporations vs. Individuals: Who Should Be Leading the Fight Against Climate Change?
The question of where responsibility lies for enacting and pushing forward climate action is one of the many meta-debates that have frequently sprung up during the course of Solar Tribune’s interviews with thought leaders in this space.
While many people desire to take control of their own impact on the climate and find that encouragement of such action can snowball to create even greater action, societal pressure, market-driving impact, and broader conversation, others pushback that any discussion that puts the onus on the individual to ‘solve’ for climate change is inherently letting the major influencers off the hook: governments and major corporations.
“For companies looking to embrace climate action, just putting solar panels on your roof isn’t necessarily enough. Making changes to reduce carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions can be really complicated. Having that energy knowledge, whether in house or outsourced to experts, is critical because it’s not something you can just figure out on your own without the expertise. So, when some businesses talk about net zero carbon goals, they may only be thinking of their energy bill but that’s just a small piece of the pie in the context of their entire supply chain and corporate energy footprint.” – Lauren Glickman, Managing Partner at RenewComm