Where does advocacy matter most?
The world's largest individual sources of environmental impact. For each one, we explain how you can make a difference.
China's coal power sector
For comparison: beef patty = 71, 40 km car commute = 5
China burns over half the world's coal, producing ~8,550 Mt CO₂ from coal annually (2023). The power sector alone accounts for ~5,500 Mt. China continues building new coal plants while simultaneously investing massively in renewables — in 2024, emissions growth stalled thanks to record wind and solar expansion.
How can you take action?
- Demand Scope 3 emissions reporting from companies that manufacture in China. The EU's CSRD directive requires large companies to report full value chain emissions — this creates pressure on Chinese factories to switch to cleaner energy.
- Support EU carbon border tariffs (CBAM), which price the carbon footprint of imported goods. CBAM is expanding to steel, cement, and aluminum — sectors where China's coal power is the biggest emission source.
- Be honest: an individual consumer's direct influence on China's energy policy is minimal. The most effective approach is supporting international climate agreements and demanding consistent trade policies that reward cleaner production.
- Track China's progress realistically: in 2024, China installed more solar and wind capacity than the rest of the world combined, and emissions growth stalled. 2025 may be China's emissions peak — support this by demanding international climate financing for China's renewable transition.
- Check the carbon footprint of your purchases: electronics, clothing, and steel are often manufactured using China's coal power. Favor manufacturers that report their production energy sources and use renewable energy.
Global fast fashion industry
For comparison: beef patty = 71, 40 km car commute = 5
The fast fashion industry produces 8–10% of global greenhouse gas emissions — roughly 4,000–5,000 Mt CO₂e annually. This exceeds international aviation and maritime shipping combined. The industry consumes 141 billion cubic meters of water annually, produces 20% of global wastewater, and causes 35% of ocean microplastic pollution. 500,000 tonnes of synthetic microfibers enter the ocean annually — equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles.
How can you take action?
- Buy less and higher quality — especially avoid ultra-fast fashion (Shein, Temu). In the EU, textile waste amounts to 12 kg per person per year. Every cheap garment not purchased directly reduces emissions, water consumption, and microplastic pollution.
- Favor secondhand, recycled, and repaired clothing. Extending a garment's lifecycle by 9 months reduces its carbon footprint by about 20–30%.
- Wash synthetic clothes less frequently, at 30°C, and use a microfiber filter (e.g., Guppyfriend wash bag or PlanetCare filter). France requires microfiber filters in all new washing machines from January 2025 — the EU will follow.
- Actively support EU textile regulation: from 2026, destroying unsold clothing is banned in the EU, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requires fashion brands to pay for collection and recycling costs. France is introducing an environmental scoring system for clothing (Eco-Score) in October 2026.
- Demand transparency from fashion brands: Fashion Revolution (fashionrevolution.org) ranks brands by transparency annually. Favor GOTS and OEKO-TEX MADE IN GREEN certified products, which cover the entire production chain's environmental and labor assessment.
- Check your fund investments: many funds hold fast fashion companies (Inditex/Zara, H&M, Fast Retailing/Uniqlo). Demand your fund adopts ESG policies that account for the textile industry's environmental impact.
Saudi Aramco
For comparison: beef patty = 71, 40 km car commute = 5
Saudi Aramco is the world's largest oil company and the single largest corporate greenhouse gas emitter in history — responsible for ~4.4% of all cumulative human CO₂ emissions since 1854. Operational emissions (Scope 1+2) are ~73 Mt/year, but including downstream combustion (Scope 3), total lifecycle emissions reach ~1,600 Mt CO₂e annually. If Aramco were a country, it would be the world's 4th largest emitter.
How can you take action?
- Reduce your personal oil dependency: electric car, heat pump, renewable electricity, less flying. The vast majority of Aramco's 1,600 Mt annual emissions come from downstream combustion of sold oil (Scope 3) — every barrel less directly reduces emissions.
- Demand your pension funds divest from Aramco investments. Aramco's CEO has publicly called the energy transition "visibly failing" — the company doesn't even pretend to reduce production.
- Support EU carbon border tariffs (CBAM) and the removal of fossil fuel subsidies. Saudi Arabia opposed all language on fossil fuel phase-out at COP29 — international pressure is essential.
- Check your bank's and fund's investments using the Fossil Free database (gofossilfree.org). Banks and pension companies still hold billions in fossil company shares.
- Support Climate Action Tracker (climateactiontracker.org), which monitors and evaluates countries' and companies' climate pledges against actual actions. Saudi Arabia's rating is "Critically insufficient".
Amazon deforestation
For comparison: beef patty = 71, 40 km car commute = 5
The Amazon rainforest is the world's largest tropical forest and a critical carbon sink, but deforestation and fires are turning it into a net emitter. In 2024, total emissions from deforestation and fire degradation reached ~1,416 Mt CO₂ — 625 Mt from deforestation and a record 791 Mt from fires. While Brazilian Amazon deforestation has dropped 50% from 2022 peaks, fires have surged sevenfold, overtaking deforestation as the largest emission source.
How can you take action?
- Demand strict enforcement of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) — it takes effect in December 2026 and covers beef, soy, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, rubber, and wood. The regulation bans imports of products linked to deforestation. 73% of European consumers already avoid brands associated with deforestation.
- Avoid Brazilian beef and soy — beef causes more deforestation than palm oil, soy, and wood products combined. Most soy is used as animal feed, so reducing meat consumption also reduces soy demand pressure on the Amazon.
- Support Amazon Watch (amazonwatch.org), which supports indigenous land rights — research shows that indigenous-managed areas are the most effective barrier against deforestation. In 2025, seven indigenous peoples in Peru and Ecuador united to oppose oil drilling.
- Favor FSC-certified wood and Rainforest Alliance certified coffee and cocoa. The Rainforest Alliance standard prohibits deforestation on land cleared since 2014.
- Donate to the Amazon Conservation Association (amazonconservation.org), which monitors deforestation in real-time using satellite data and protects key ecosystems. In May 2025, the Amazon lost 960 km² of forest — 92% more than May 2024.
Permian Basin Oil & Gas Operations
For comparison: beef patty = 71, 40 km car commute = 5
The Permian Basin (Texas/New Mexico) is the world's most productive oil field and a massive source of methane leaks and CO₂ emissions from flaring, venting, and extraction. Satellite data shows methane emissions are 60% higher than EPA estimates. Fracking operations also contaminate groundwater and consume vast amounts of freshwater.
How can you take action?
- Support the EU Methane Regulation, which now extends to imported oil and gas — the EU requires producers to measure, report, and verify (MRV) methane emissions also in non-EU production. This directly affects the Permian Basin.
- Support the Environmental Defense Fund's PermianMAP project (permianmap.org), which uses satellite data to expose methane leaks at oil fields. MethaneSAT satellite data showed that actual methane emissions are many times higher than official reports.
- Demand your pension funds and banks divest from the Permian Basin's largest operators (ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Occidental). 350.org's Fossil Free campaign (gofossilfree.org) provides divestment tools.
- Reduce your personal oil dependency: electric car, heat pump, public transit. Permian Basin oil enters the global gasoline and diesel market — reducing demand is the most direct lever.
- Support citizen initiatives to end fossil fuel subsidies. EU countries still subsidize fossil fuels with roughly €50 billion per year, which sustains the profitability of fields like the Permian Basin.
Indo-Gangetic Plain Crop Burning
For comparison: beef patty = 71, 40 km car commute = 5
Seasonal crop residue burning across northern India (Punjab, Haryana, UP) releases massive amounts of PM2.5 particulates, black carbon, and CO₂. Affects 600+ million people with toxic air. Causes an estimated 66,000 premature deaths annually in Delhi-NCR alone. The practice persists due to short turnaround between harvest seasons and lack of affordable alternatives for smallholder farmers.
How can you take action?
- Support The Nature Conservancy's PRANA project (Promoting Regenerative and No-burn Agriculture), which trains northern Indian farmers to transition from burning to sustainable farming methods. Donate at nature.org.
- Support CGIAR/CIMMYT research developing Happy Seeder technology and no-till methods. Research shows that stopping burning and adopting no-till increases farmer incomes by 10–20% and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 78%.
- Demand international climate funds (Green Climate Fund) provide financing for Indian smallholder transition — burning continues because Happy Seeder machines (~€1,500 each) are too expensive for individual farmers.
- Be honest about impact: an individual's direct influence on Indian agricultural practices is limited. The most effective approach is supporting organizations working on the ground and demanding international climate agreements that provide technology financing to developing countries.
- Follow the NASA FIRMS satellite service (firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov), which shows real-time fire hotspots in northern India — open data increases pressure on India's government to enforce burning bans.
Bełchatów Power Station
For comparison: beef patty = 71, 40 km car commute = 5
Europe's largest coal-fired power station and single largest CO₂ point source. Burns lignite (brown coal), the dirtiest fossil fuel. Produces ~20% of Poland's electricity but is responsible for roughly 10% of Poland's total CO₂ emissions.
How can you take action?
- Support the Beyond Fossil Fuels campaign (beyondfossilfuels.org), which demands Europe's coal phase-out by 2030 — Bełchatów is the campaign's top target. ClientEarth has already won a lawsuit forcing PGE to negotiate a closure timeline.
- Demand that the EU Just Transition Fund ties its funding to actual coal phase-out — Poland receives €3.85 billion from the fund, but its official coal exit timeline is only 2049.
- Demand your pension funds and banks divest from companies investing in coal power. In the Nordics, over 25% of pension funds have committed to fossil divestment (350.org Fossil Free campaign).
- Check your electricity contract's origin — avoid utilities buying Polish coal power from the Nordic electricity exchange. Choose 100% renewable electricity.
- Support tightening the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). A high carbon price is the most effective way to make plants like Bełchatów economically unviable — in 2025, renewables surpassed coal in Poland's electricity production for the first time.
Niger Delta oil spills and gas flaring
For comparison: beef patty = 71, 40 km car commute = 5
The Niger Delta oil industry has caused continuous environmental catastrophe for over 60 years. About 240,000 barrels of crude oil spill annually and ~23 billion cubic meters of gas are flared, producing ~35 Mt CO₂e/year — roughly half of Nigeria's total emissions. The delta hosts Africa's largest mangrove forest and the world's third-largest wetland, both severely damaged by oil pollution.
How can you take action?
- Support Amnesty International's "No Clean Up, No Justice" campaign. Shell sold its Nigerian operations in 2025 to the Renaissance consortium for $2.4 billion, leaving 60 years of oil pollution uncleaned. Amnesty demands Shell remain accountable even after the sale — support through donations or petitions.
- Join the Justice 4 Nigeria network (justice4nigeria@amnesty.org.uk), which mobilizes international pressure against Shell. In 2025, the Bille and Ogale communities took Shell to London's Supreme Court — the full hearing begins in 2026.
- Support Both ENDS (bothends.org), which gathered 195 international NGO signatures on an open letter demanding Shell clean up the Niger Delta before withdrawing.
- Demand EU corporate responsibility legislation (CSDDD) that prevents European companies from leaving environmental damage uncleaned in developing countries. Shell is a European company — EU legislation can enforce accountability.
- Reduce oil dependency through personal choices (electric car, heat pump, renewable electricity). Niger Delta oil enters the global market — reducing demand reduces pressure to open new drilling sites in sensitive areas.
Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel)
For comparison: beef patty = 71, 40 km car commute = 5
Norilsk Nickel is one of the world's largest nickel and palladium producers and Russia's worst industrial polluter. Its 7.5 Mt/year CO₂ is only part of the story — the company emits 1.9 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide annually (matching all US sulphur sources combined). Nickel and copper oxide pollution has destroyed vegetation within 60 km. Respiratory disease mortality far exceeds Russia's national average.
How can you take action?
- Demand the EU include nickel in Russia sanctions. Unlike the US and UK (April 2024), the EU has not sanctioned Russian nickel — the EU imported nearly $1.3 billion of Russian nickel post-sanctions, two-thirds through Finland. Write to your MEP.
- Demand EV and battery manufacturers (Tesla, BYD, Northvolt, CATL) transparently report nickel origins. The EU Battery Regulation requires large companies from August 2025 to audit cobalt, lithium, nickel, and graphite supply chains.
- Support the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which requires companies to identify and prevent human rights and environmental risks in their supply chains. Nornickel is moving production to China to circumvent sanctions — CSDDD covers indirect sourcing too.
- Support the Bellona Foundation (bellona.org), which documents Nornickel's pollution in the Arctic. Global Witness (globalwitness.org) revealed in 2025 reports how Russian nickel flows into EU markets through sanction loopholes.
- When buying an EV or device with a lithium-ion battery, ask the seller about the nickel's origin. Consumer demand for responsibly sourced nickel drives manufacturers' procurement decisions.
Citarum River industrial pollution
For comparison: beef patty = 71, 40 km car commute = 5
The Citarum River in West Java is one of the world's most polluted rivers. Over 1,000 factories — primarily textile — dump 20,000 tonnes of solid waste and 340,000 tonnes of wastewater daily. Bacterial levels are 5,000x above safe limits and lead concentrations 1,000–25,000x permissible levels. The polluted water has contaminated 2,300 hectares of rice fields with heavy metals. The river serves 25 million people including greater Jakarta.
How can you take action?
- Demand transparency from clothing brands about their supply chain — ask if your clothes are made in West Java factories. Changing Markets Foundation's "Dirty Fashion" report named international brands whose supply chains pollute the Citarum River. 68% of upper Citarum industrial facilities are textile factories.
- Favor clothes with credible environmental certification: GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) covers the entire production chain including wastewater. OEKO-TEX MADE IN GREEN includes production site environmental assessment. ZDHC membership alone does not guarantee actual action.
- Support the Fashion Revolution movement (fashionrevolution.org), which demands transparency and accountability from the fashion industry. Ask brands #WhoMadeMyClothes — consumer pressure has driven several brands to publish their factory information.
- Demand stricter EU textile regulation: the EU's new Waste Framework Directive mandates Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles and bans destruction of unsold clothing from 2026. Support strict enforcement of these regulations.
- Buy fewer new clothes and favor secondhand. Citarum River pollution is a direct result of global fast fashion overdemand — every cheap garment not purchased reduces pressure on Indonesian factories.
Did you know?
The world's 100 largest companies produce 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions. By targeting advocacy at the right places, the power of individual consumers is multiplied.