We’re bringing
climate solutions home.
Inspired by Project Drawdown®, we are building a movement in Georgia to accelerate progress toward net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
What’s Possible by 2030
If we get this right, we can cut Georgia’s carbon impact by 57% in 2030 compared to 2005 levels, from 156 megatons (MT) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) to 67 MT. This is based on ambitious but achievable emissions reductions in five, high-impact areas:
Electricity
Buildings & Materials
Food & Agriculture
Land Sinks
Transportation
Electricity
Capturing sunlight, turning waste to energy and
creating new habits around energy usage.
Buildings & Materials
Buildings and toxicity often go hand in hand,
but now we know better. Let’s build clean, Georgia!
Food & Agriculture
Many things about our food systems need an
overhaul. Let’s grow something new.
Land Sinks
Georgia has 22 million acres of working forests that
offset 8% of our emissions. Let’s plant more trees!
Transportation
In 2017, vehicles accounted for 43% of our emissions
— if we get this one right, we’re nearly halfway there!
What’s a Megaton of Carbon?
A megaton of carbon is equal to one million metric tons. The Drawdown Georgia research team measures greenhouse gas emissions by the megaton to measure the impact that climate solutions are having on statewide emissions. What does a megaton of carbon look like? Check out the Megaton Explorer below.
Explore
A State
of Change
Georgia is
Leading the Way
Drawdown Georgia is the first state-centered effort to crowdsolve for climate change, with 20 high-impact solutions that are tailored to Georgia’s unique natural, economic and social resources. These solutions can help us keep multiple megatons of carbon out of the atmosphere.
Drawdown Georgia Solutions
The Drawdown theory of change is based on scaling the best solutions we have today. Each Drawdown Georgia solution has a strong track record and is market ready. Scaling the solution to the level we need to reach by 2030 is both achievable and cost competitive.
Electricity
Buildings & Materials
Food & Agriculture
Land Sinks
Transportation
Electricity
Accelerating Georgia’s progress to renewables means increasing solar and putting waste heat to work in co-generation plants, capturing methane from landfills and turning it into power, and shifting our electricity usage to off-peak.
Buildings & Materials
Buildings are huge energy hogs and some of the materials that you’ll find inside them, like hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants, are big emitters. We can cut emissions in Georgia by recycling more, making our buildings more energy efficient, and replacing refrigerant chemicals with less polluting options.
Food & Agriculture
The way we grow our food, what we eat, and what happens to excess and waste are all essential parts of our carbon footprint. Drawdown solutions aim to grow food in ways that benefit the land and sequester carbon, increase lower carbon plant-forward diets, reduce food waste, and increase composting.
Land Sinks
Georgia’s natural land sinks - including 22 million acres of working forests and rich coastal wetlands - sequester 46 Mt of CO2 each year, offsetting 27% of total emissions in the state. It’s critical to increase our capacity to sequester carbon as we reduce emissions elsewhere.
Transportation
Georgia has nearly 90,000 miles of public roads and the world’s busiest airport. In 2017, vehicles accounted for 43% of our emissions — our single largest source! Drawdown aims to massively reduce our consumption of gasoline and diesel with a big push for electric and fuel-efficient vehicles, more and smarter mass transit, and better alternative mobility options.
Beyond Carbon
A changing climate makes bad things in our society and communities worse. Getting back to a healthy climate can improve more than just our planet’s health. Drawdown Georgia solutions impact our state’s economy, social inequities, public health, and the environment.
Economy
Innovation is the engine of economic growth and renewal. Drawdown solutions can drive local economic and employment growth, bring high-skill jobs to our state, and drive infrastructure investments that make Georgia…
Equity
Successful climate solutions lift people up, ensure that all communities are at the table, and deliver benefits to those who are under-resourced. Focusing on equity ensures that community concerns…
Public Health
Solutions like electric vehicles, mass transportation, alternative mobility, healthy buildings, and renewable energy improve air quality and reduce the chances that our kids will have asthma…
Environment
We all win when we protect the environment and ecosystems. Conservation agriculture practices and temperate forest stewardship extend the benefits of our natural carbon sinks like trees, soil, and other vegetation…
Meet the Climate Change Makers
Our solutions are market-ready and already happening in Georgia. From the peanut farmer who sold 1,400 acres of his farm for community solar, to an ambitious project to create the most sustainable highway in the world, Georgia is boldly innovating its way to a promising future.
Stories & Studies
Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund and Clean Energy Access
The Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund, a recipient of the inaugural Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity grants, is focused on promoting equitable access to clean energy in our state. Scaling climate solutions around
Media response to Georgia’s Changing Carbon Footprint report
Here are a few examples of media coverage of this Georgia climate news: 11 Alive interview with researcher Marilyn Brown, “Researchers say Georgia's total carbon emission continues to fall” Atlanta Journal Constitution, “Georgia’s carbon emissions
Drawdown Georgia Congregations: Living Out Our Value to the Climate
Implementing small-scale climate solutions is one of the best ways to improve our environment. By taking steps in our local communities and public spaces, there is an opportunity to influence community members to incorporate climate solutions in their homes.
A Conversation with Jenni Harris of White Oak Pastures
It might be difficult to believe that a single family business in Bluffton, Ga., is helping to regenerate farmland, revive a small town, produce nutritious food for the community, and scale climate solutions in our state, but all of this–and more–is happening at White Oak Pastures. Jenni Harris is a member of the Drawdown Georgia Leadership Council and part of the fifth generation to raise livestock at White Oak Pastures. She recently joined Blair Beasley for a conversation about the incredible work underway at her family’s farm, from regenerative agriculture to grazing operations at the neighboring large-scale solar installation.