It is true. Together, we can make a difference, but it has to be a real difference.

That is because the only way to stop the total concentration of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change from growing in the atmosphere is for all of us to work together to shrink global emissions to less than half today’s levels in the next 10 years, and then get to zero emissions within the next 30 years. That is a lot, but worth the effort.

Unfortunately, if we don’t get a handle on our energy and land use, humans and natural systems could face additional warming of 3 degrees or more. According to the world’s leading climate scientists, even global average warming of another half a degree or so puts the world at grave risk of even more extreme changes to our weather.

If Canada and the rest of the world does its part to reach those goals, and we can, the Earth’s energy system will eventually come back into balance and we will avoid dangerous global heating. That means we have to move beyond recycling to change how we make and use energy, how we grow food, and how we manage our forests.

The good news: there solutions. We can fix it. And we’ll end up with safer, healthier communities for everyone.