Personal vs Systemic Emissions
Understand what individuals control vs what systems shape.
Personal vs Systemic Emissions is designed to help learners build a clear, practical understanding of the topic—without drowning in jargon. We start by grounding the “why” and the “what”: the key definitions, the mental models you’ll keep using, and the context that makes the rest of climate learning click.
You’ll explore the big ideas that matter most: individual choices within systems, policy/infrastructure effects, how to avoid blame games. Instead of treating these as abstract concepts, the course connects them to everyday decisions and real-world examples so you can recognize them in news, workplace conversations, and the choices you make at home.
We also go deeper into: personal influence: voting, workplace, spending. Along the way, you’ll practice translating complexity into simple explanations, so you can communicate confidently and spot common misconceptions before they trip you up.
By the end, you’ll be able to explain the relationship between individual choices and systemic change without falling into all-or-nothing thinking, and you’ll have a few concrete next steps to keep momentum going.
Course Lessons
Why Systems Matter in Climate
This lesson, “Why Systems Matter in Climate,” is a focused module within the course “Personal vs Systemic Emissions.” You’ll start by grounding the topic with infrastructure shapes choices (transport, energy) and markets and incentives (high-level), so the core idea is clear before moving on. Next, the lesson connects the concept to practical context by exploring why “individual vs. systemic” is a false choice and where small actions aggregate into demand shifts, using plain-language explanations and a supportive visual. You’ll also work through a real-world example that helps you apply the idea to everyday decisions or common climate conversations. By the end, you should be able to summarize the lesson’s main point in your own words and answer a short quiz that checks true understanding—not memorization.
What Individuals Can Influence Most
This lesson, “What Individuals Can Influence Most,” is a focused module within the course “Personal vs Systemic Emissions.” You’ll start by grounding the topic with high-leverage personal actions (energy, transport, food) and consumer demand signals and market response, so the core idea is clear before moving on. Next, the lesson connects the concept to practical context by exploring community action: schools, workplaces, neighborhoods and voting with dollars vs. civic engagement (neutral), using plain-language explanations and a supportive visual. You’ll also work through a real-world example that helps you apply the idea to everyday decisions or common climate conversations. By the end, you should be able to summarize the lesson’s main point in your own words and answer a short quiz that checks true understanding—not memorization.
What Governments and Policy Influence
This lesson, “What Governments and Policy Influence,” is a focused module within the course “Personal vs Systemic Emissions.” You’ll start by grounding the topic with standards and regulations (efficiency, pollution limits) and public investment and infrastructure, so the core idea is clear before moving on. Next, the lesson connects the concept to practical context by exploring pricing signals and incentives (overview) and why policy creates scale, using plain-language explanations and a supportive visual. You’ll also work through a real-world example that helps you apply the idea to everyday decisions or common climate conversations. By the end, you should be able to summarize the lesson’s main point in your own words and answer a short quiz that checks true understanding—not memorization.
What Companies and Supply Chains Influence
This lesson, “What Companies and Supply Chains Influence,” is a focused module within the course “Personal vs Systemic Emissions.” You’ll start by grounding the topic with product design and material choices and procurement and supplier requirements, so the core idea is clear before moving on. Next, the lesson connects the concept to practical context by exploring logistics and operations improvements and disclosure and accountability pressures, using plain-language explanations and a supportive visual. You’ll also work through a real-world example that helps you apply the idea to everyday decisions or common climate conversations. By the end, you should be able to summarize the lesson’s main point in your own words and answer a short quiz that checks true understanding—not memorization.
Building a Balanced Action Strategy
This lesson, “Building a Balanced Action Strategy,” is a focused module within the course “Personal vs Systemic Emissions.” You’ll start by grounding the topic with choose actions across personal, community, and systemic levels and set a realistic action portfolio (short/medium/long term), so the core idea is clear before moving on. Next, the lesson connects the concept to practical context by exploring use offsets responsibly for residual emissions and track progress and adjust, using plain-language explanations and a supportive visual. You’ll also work through a real-world example that helps you apply the idea to everyday decisions or common climate conversations. By the end, you should be able to summarize the lesson’s main point in your own words and answer a short quiz that checks true understanding—not memorization.