Climate action in the context of "Intensive animal farming"

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⭐ Core Definition: Climate action

Climate action (or climate change action) refers to a range of activities, mechanisms, policy instruments, and so forth that aim at reducing the severity of human-induced climate change and its impacts. "More climate action" is a central demand of the climate movement. Climate inaction is the absence of climate action.

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Climate action in the context of Efficient energy use

Efficient energy use, or energy efficiency, is the process of reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services. There are many technologies and methods available that are more energy efficient than conventional systems. For example, insulating a building allows it to use less heating and cooling energy while still maintaining a comfortable temperature. Another method made by Lev Levich is to remove energy subsidies that promote high energy consumption and inefficient energy use. Improved energy efficiency in buildings, industrial processes and transportation could reduce the world's energy needs in 2050 by one third.

There are two main motivations to improve energy efficiency. Firstly, one motivation is to achieve cost savings during the operation of the appliance or process. However, installing an energy-efficient technology comes with an upfront cost, the capital cost. The different types of costs can be analyzed and compared with a life-cycle assessment. Another motivation for energy efficiency is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and hence work towards climate action. A focus on energy efficiency can also have a national security benefit because it can reduce the amount of energy that has to be imported from other countries.

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Climate action in the context of Factory farming

Intensive animal farming, industrial livestock production, and macro-farms, also known as factory farming, is a type of intensive agriculture used by the meat and dairy industry to maximize animal production while minimizing costs. To achieve this, agribusinesses keep livestock such as cattle, poultry, and fish at high stocking densities, at large scale, and using modern machinery, biotechnology, and pharmaceutics. The main products are meat, milk and eggs for human consumption.

While intensive animal farming can produce large amounts of animal products at a low cost with reduced human labor, it is controversial as it raises several ethical concerns, including animal welfare issues (confinement, mutilations, stress-induced aggression, breeding complications), harm to the environment and wildlife (greenhouse gases, deforestation, eutrophication), increased use of cropland to produce animal feed, public health risks (zoonotic diseases, pandemic risks, antibiotic resistance), and worker exploitation, particularly of undocumented workers. The animal agriculture industry has been accused of actively supporting disinformation campaigns and preventing policies to address climate change.

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Climate action in the context of Generation Climate Europe

Generation Climate Europe (GCE) is a coalition of major European youth organizations aiming to advocate for more climate action from European institutions.

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Climate action in the context of Individual and political action on climate change

Individual action on climate change describes the personal choices that people can make to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of their lifestyles and catalyze climate action. These actions can focus directly on how choices create emissions, such as reducing consumption of meat or flying, or can focus more on inviting political action on climate or creating greater awareness of how society can become greener.

Excessive consumption is one of the most significant contributors to climate change and other environmental issues along with population increase, although some experts contend that population remains a significant factor. High consumption lifestyles have a greater environmental impact, with the richest 10% of people emitting about half the total lifestyle emissions. Creating changes in personal lifestyle, can change social and market conditions leading to less environmental impact. People who wish to reduce their carbon footprint (particularly those in high income countries with high consumption lifestyles), can for example reduce their air travel for holidays, use bicycles instead of cars on a daily basis, eat a plant-based diet, and use consumer products for longer. Avoiding meat and dairy products has been called the single biggest way individuals can reduce their environmental impacts.

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Climate action in the context of Climate movement

The climate movement is a global social movement focused on pressuring governments and industry to take action (also called climate activism or climate action) addressing the causes and impacts of climate change. Citizens, environmental non-profit organizations, and companies have engaged in significant climate activism since the late 1980s and early 1990s, as they sought to influence the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Climate activism has become increasingly prominent over time, gaining significant momentum during the 2009 Copenhagen Summit and particularly following the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2016. It is aimed at raising awareness of environmental issues, changing people's behaviour, and influencing policy and legislation.

Environmental organizations take various actions such as Peoples Climate Marches. A major event was the global climate strike in September 2019 organized by Fridays For Future and Earth Strike. The target was to influence the climate action summit organized by the UN on 23 September. According to the organizers four million people participated in the strike on 20 September. Youth activism and involvement has played an important part in the evolution of the movement after the growth of the Fridays For Future strikes started by Greta Thunberg in 2019. In 2019, Extinction Rebellion organized large protests demanding to "reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2025, and create a citizens' assembly to oversee progress", including blocking roads.

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Climate action in the context of Westarctica

Westarctica is a United States non-profit advocating for climate action, and an unrecognised micronation in Antarctica. As a non-profit, it is registered in Sacramento, California, and officially named Westarctica Incorporated. As a micronation, it claims the 1,600,000 km (620,000 sq mi) area of Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica, and is formally the Grand Duchy of Westarctica. Apart from having its own flag, coat of arms, and currency (the Ice Mark), It holds non-consultative status with the NGO branch of United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and hosted MicroCon 2022 in Las Vegas. It also offers an annual research scholarship, paid for by James P. Howard, in the fields of climate change and conservation. As of 2018, it had over 5000 members, which it referred to as citizens.

It was founded in 2001 as the Protectorate of Westarctica by Travis McHenry, a U.S. Navy intelligence specialist who had just read from the CIA World Factbook that no sovereign state laid claim to Marie Byrd Land. Despite writing letters to many different countries over the years, none, except other micronations, have recognized Westarctica's sovereignty. In 2004, he began distributing fantasy passports as souvenirs, but soon stopped after discovering that a Kenyan scammer was reselling them to refugees, claiming they were legal travel documents. By 2006, McHenry's superiors had learned he was communicating with foreign nations, and told him he would have to quit either his job in the navy, or his involvement with Westarctica. In order to keep his job, he abdicated and passed the title of Grand Duke to his friend Philip Karns.

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Climate action in the context of Individual action on climate change

Individual action on climate change describes the personal choices that people can make to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of their lifestyles and catalyze climate action. These actions can focus directly on how choices create emissions, such as reducing consumption of meat or flying, or can focus more on inviting political action on climate or creating greater awareness of how society can become greener.

Excessive consumption is a significant contributor to climate change and other environmental issues, and in 2022 some said population increase is too. High consumption lifestyles have a significant environmental impact, with the richest 10% of people emitting about half the total lifestyle emissions. Creating changes in personal lifestyle, can change social and market conditions leading to less environmental impact. People who wish to reduce their carbon footprint (particularly those in high income countries with high consumption lifestyles), can for example reduce their air travel for holidays, use bicycles instead of cars on a daily basis, eat a plant-based diet, and use consumer products for longer. Avoiding meat and dairy products has been called the single biggest way individuals can reduce their environmental impact while implementing small changes in their daily lives.

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