Drawdown (climate)

Climate drawdown refers to the future point in time when levels of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to decline.^[1] Drawdown is a milestone in reversing climate change and eventually reducing global average temperatures.^[2] Project Drawdown refers to a nonprofit organization which tries to help the world reach drawdown and stop climate change. In 2017, a publication titled "Drawdown" highlighted and described different solutions and efforts available to help reach this goal.

Project Drawdown

Project Drawdown is a U.S.-based nonprofit focused on science-based solutions to climate change. The organization – focused on climate change mitigation – was co-founded by Paul Hawken and Amanda Joy Ravenhill. Dr. Jonathan Foley is the current executive director.

The Project Drawdown website includes a climate solutions library, video lessons^[3], publications, and more that explain the science behind the project.

Nine Sectors

The website lists nine sectors where immediate action is needed to limit climate change. They are:

1. Electricity: Electricity production gives rise to 25% of heat-trapping emissions globally.^[4]
2. Food, Agriculture, and Land Use: Agriculture and forestry activities generate 24% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.^[5][6]
3. Industry: Industry is responsible for 21% of all heat-trapping emissions.^[7]
4. Transportation: This sector is responsible for 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions.^[8]
5. Buildings: Buildings produce 6% of heat-trapping emissions worldwide.^[9]
6. Health and Education: Climate and social systems are profoundly connected, and those connections open up solutions that are often overlooked.
7. Land Sinks: While the majority of heat-trapping emissions remain in the atmosphere, land sinks return 26% of human-caused emissions to Earth.^[10]
8. Coastal and Ocean Sinks: Oceans have absorbed at least 90% of the excess heat generated by recent climate changes and have taken up 20–30% of human-created carbon dioxide.^[11]
9. Engineered Sinks: The sheer quantity of excess greenhouse gases means that natural processes cannot do it all when it comes to carbon sequestration. Developing technologies show promise to help supplement previously mentioned natural sinks.^[12]

Book

This section is an excerpt from Drawdown (book).[edit]

Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming is a 2017 book created, written, and edited by Paul Hawken about climate change mitigation. Other writers include Katharine Wilkinson, and the foreword was written by (hardback edition) Tom Steyer and (paperback) Prince Charles.

The book describes solutions arranged in order by broad categories: energy, food, women and girls, buildings and cities, land use, transport, materials, and "coming attractions".^[13] The book provides a list of 100 potential solutions and ranks them by the potential amount of greenhouse gases each could cut, with cost estimates and short descriptions.^[14][15]

The Guardian notes that the author has had influence in corporate sustainability efforts and that companies such as Interface and Autodesk have backed the project. It was intended that the book be supplemented with an online database, Project Drawdown, which was to compile the numerous types of solutions.^[16]

Drawdown Review

A 2020 review of the findings of the research that led to the 2017 book was published as a 104-page PDF in 2020.^[17]

Project Drawdown website

The Project Drawdown website has the most recent climate solutions analysis prepared by the organization. Data on the website is being continuously updated as new information becomes available.

See also

• What is climate change?
• Carbon sequestration