Do These Things to Prevent Climate Change from Home

by:Amira Sofa

Editor:Aditya Gagat Hanggara

07 Dec 2021

Recently, the issue of climate change has become a major discussion on a global scale. Climate changeitself is a significant change in climate, air temperature, and rainfall over a period of decades to millions of years. This happens because of the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide gas and other gases in the atmosphere. The increase in gas concentration triggers the emergence of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases create excessive layers around the earth. The more layers, the more heat is absorbed by the earth. This hot earth causes many phenomena, such as long droughts, the spread of disease outbreaks, large storm waves, increasing heat temperatures in the oceans, melting of polar ice caps, catastrophic floods in various countries, and extreme weather.

As a global issue, of course, climate change also worries us, the citizens of Jakarta who are increasingly feeling the impact of its presence. For example, the weather is unpredictable. At one time, it could rain heavily. But not long after, the weather can be so dry. So, how does the Jakarta Provincial Government respond to this? What else can Smartcitizen do to contribute to minimizing climate change from home? Let’s find out. 

Jakarta on Becoming A Climate Resistant City

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stated that the air temperature in Jakartais 1.4 degrees stronger than the global average temperature. This indicates that Jakarta itself is already affected by climate change. Therefore, intensive steps are needed to minimize the impact of climate change in the capital. In this regard, the Governor of DKI Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, issued Governor Regulation Number 90 of 2021 concerning the Regional Low Carbon Development Plan (RPRKD). Jakarta is also proclaimed to be a climate-resilient city. A number of actions will be carried out in the form of energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy and environmentally friendly fuels, the transition from the use of private vehicles to public transportation, and treatment of water and waste.

How To Contribute From Home 

A series of actions have been initiated by the government. However, the government's mitigation measures alone are not enough to protect Jakarta from the impacts of climate change. As a Jakartan, you can also contribute. There are some tips to minimize climate change that you can do from home. Please read carefully. 

  1. Save or replace energy sources

Excessive use of energy that is not environmentally friendly is one of the factors causing greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, saving electrical energy can help minimize the impact of climate change. When you are at home, try to pay attention again to your surroundings. Is there any unused electrical equipment? If there is any, turn off the equipment and unplug it to save energy. If possible, you can also choose energy efficient electronic devices. It could also switch to renewable energy sources that are more environmentally friendly, such as solar panels.

  1. Reduce water use

As already explained, climate change can cause drought. To minimize the potential for this to happen, you can start to be wiser in using water. There are several things that you can apply to reduce water waste, for example, don't forget to turn off the faucet when it's not needed, build a water well at home for water reserves, and others. Saving water like this will allow other people to enjoy clean water so they can avoid drying out.

  1. Reduce food waste

According to the UN Environment's 2018 Emissions Gap Report, food systems have the potential to reduce up to 6.7 gigatons of carbon dioxide. Therefore, mitigation measures are needed from the food sector, including from home. As simple as not wasting food or buying food in excess, it is also a small mitigation step, you know. That way, there will be less food waste, so there will be less carbon emissions and the impacts caused by them.

  1. Implementing 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)

Are you familiar with the term 3R? You can reduce, reuse, and recycle to tackle global warming. Reduce what you can do by minimizing the use of plastic and packaging products. Reuse can be done by reusing items that have been used. For example, you can modify a plastic cup into a stationery holder, and so on. While recycle is the process of recycling waste into something useful again. For example, processing organic waste into compost.

  1. Reducing the use of private motorized vehicles

The use of motorized vehicles produces emissions, which then become one of the triggers of climate change. To reduce this risk, you can start using public transportation, switch to environmentally friendly transportation such as bicycles, or even walk on your feet. For those of you who are not able to do this alternative, using a motorized vehicle is not a problem. Just make sure your vehicle passes the emission test.

Those are some recommendations about things you can do to contribute to protecting the environment from climate change. This issue is a shared responsibility. For that, don't let this important information end at you. Spread awareness to take better care of the environment to the people closest to you. If you want to know more about the emission test provisions for motorized vehicles in Jakarta, read the most asked questions.

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