Drawdown: Climate Change

The concept of "Drawdown," popularized by environmentalist Paul Hawken, refers to the specific future point in time when greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere begin to decline on a year-over-year basis. It represents the ultimate goal of climate mitigation strategies, moving beyond simply reducing emissions to actively removing carbon from the atmosphere.

The Project Drawdown organization outlines a diverse array of solutions, ranging from adopting renewable energy sources like solar and wind power to regenerative agriculture practices. Their research emphasizes that a combination of technological shifts and changes in human behavior, such as reducing food waste, is necessary to achieve global climate goals.

The concept reached a wide audience primarily through the 2017 book titled "Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming," edited by Paul Hawken. The research was subsequently expanded into an open-access database and a digital platform.

Project Drawdown organizes its solutions into distinct categories such as electricity generation, food, women and girls, buildings, and land sinks. By evaluating over 80 different technologies and practices, the project models their potential financial costs and total greenhouse gas reduction impacts through the year 2050.