New resolutions for a new future. More sustainable.

The Earth as we know it is changing. The consequences of human actions, which have led to the climate crisis we are currently experiencing, now force us to rethink the choices we have made so far, as individuals and as humanity, and to take new paths. It will be a difficult process, but united and with the right convictions we can choose to make the New Year a symbol of a new future.

Rely on facts

To start the new year, it is important to rely on facts and on what is really happening. Those who are uninformed are often gloomier and more fatalistic than those who rely on data and what scientists tell us and find themselves spreading their despair with statements such as ‘it’s too late’ or ‘there’s nothing we can do’.But everyone can do a lot, and although the situation is critical and many parts of the planet are already suffering the consequences of the climate crisis, a lot is being done. The climate movement – thousands of campaigns around the world – has grown in strength, capacity and inclusiveness. One of the victories of activism is that more people are concerned about the climate than a few years ago and are consequently inclined to change at least some of their habits. This is the positive charge it takes to trigger change.

Individual choices and beyond

At an individual level, there are many good habits that we can propose as New Year’s resolutions: avoiding food waste, cutting down on meat, taking public transport or a bike for our daily journeys, choosing nearby destinations for holidays, limiting purchases to the bare essentials and favouring second-hand goods, switching to renewable energy and relying on an ethical bank.

The next level is to exercise our right to influence politics, as well as our responsibility to participate, and in this way to move out of the personal sphere and into a collective process, on a larger scale. Movements, campaigns, organisations and networks are the way people become powerful; they are also the places where you meet dreamers and altruists, people with hope and determination, both highly contagious.