--- title: Holiday Gifts That Actually Fight Climate Change description: The best thing for the planet is probably to give nothing at all. But you there are ways to show your love that reduce carbon emissions canonical: https://time.com/6125589/holiday-gifts-to-fight-climate-change/ author: Ciara Nugent article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-12-07T19:09:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T09:17:21.697Z article:section: Climate og:title: Christmas Gifts That Actually Fight Climate Change og:description: The best thing for the planet is to give nothing at all. But there are ways to spread festive cheer and reduce emissions og:url: https://time.com/6125589/holiday-gifts-to-fight-climate-change/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f71e157b95606be/698a2068457a526aa6d65e16/Climate-Gift-Guide.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1322 og:image:height: 744 og:image:alt: Climate Gift Guide og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Christmas Gifts That Actually Fight Climate Change twitter:description: The best thing for the planet is to give nothing at all. But there are ways to spread festive cheer and reduce emissions twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f71e157b95606be/698a2068457a526aa6d65e16/Climate-Gift-Guide.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Holiday Gifts That Actually Fight Climate Change > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=c87a4e67-2b99-4d05-ac5f-86444e719004&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Generation Now: The Fight for Climate Justice [Watch (HLS stream): Generation Now: The Fight for Climate Justice](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/CIHrS8Mv.m3u8) (14:03)  _Published 2021-11-05. Today’s young people are coming of age just as the stable climate that has allowed previous generations to thrive on our planet begins to visibly break down—and just before our last chance to stop it falls out of reach._  by [Ciara Nugent](https://time.com/author/ciara-nugent/)  ## Ciara Nugent Dec 7, 2021 7:09 PM UTC Today’s young people are coming of age just as the stable climate that has allowed previous generations to thrive on our planet begins to visibly break down—and just before our last chance to stop it falls out of reach.  by [Ciara Nugent](https://time.com/author/ciara-nugent/)  ## Ciara Nugent Dec 7, 2021 7:09 PM UTC If you’re stuck on what to buy as Christmas gifts this year, a Swiss start-up has a suggestion: some carbon dioxide. Climeworks AG owns the world’s largest [direct-air carbon capture](https://time.com/6125303/direct-air-carbon-capture-infrastructure/) facility, in Iceland, where dozens of machines suck in air and filter out the CO2, so it can be stored permanently underground and prevented from contributing to global warming. For 85 euros (about $96), Climeworks will remove and store 85kg of CO2\. You’ll be [emailed a gift certificate](https://climeworks.com/ecofriendly-gift) to send to your loved one, helping them assuage their guilt over[ flying](https://time.com/6048871/pandemic-airlines-carbon-emissions/) across the country, [eating a lot of meat ](https://time.com/6123652/post-thanksgiving-diet-carbon-emissions/)or other carbon-intensive activities they plan to engage in over the holidays. The company calls it “the world’s most sustainable gift.” But while 85kg might sound like a reasonable amount of CO2, U.S. per capita greenhouse gas emissions are around[ 16 metric tons](https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/co2?facet=none&country=CHN~USA~IND~GBR~OWID%5FWRL&Gas=CO%E2%82%82&Accounting=Production-based&Fuel=Total&Count=Per+capita) a year. That means you’d be removing only around 0.5% of the carbon your giftee put into the atmosphere this year. Removing all 16 metric tons would cost you $18,073\. And if a lot of people wanted to do that, Climeworks would run out of gift cards pretty quickly: their plant can capture 4,000 metric tons of CO2 per year—or the annual emissions of 250 Americans. So, does gifting a few kilos of CO2 really help the climate? In the long run, it arguably does. Experts say that carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology will form a small, [but crucial,](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/24/carbon-storage-technologies-critical-for-meeting-climate-targets-iea) part of the climate fight. And the burgeoning CCS industry [needs money to grow](https://time.com/6125303/direct-air-carbon-capture-infrastructure/) so it can reduce costs and make it possible to remove meaningful amounts of CO2\. (Gift certificates bought now will help pay for Climeworks to build new plants—the actual CO2 removal you order will happen within five years, the company says.) In any case, Climeworks’ sustainable Christmas gift idea is likely better than most, says Julio Friedmann, a carbon capture expert at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. “A lot of people want to undo the damage they cause through their emissions and this is a valid, verified way of doing it,” he says. “Fundamentally, Climeworks will do what they say they’re doing.”  Climeworks' factory near Reykjavik on October 11, 2021. Halldor Kolbeins—AFP/Getty Images Trying to give a gift that helps rather than harms the climate is a greenwashing minefield: from unnecessary “eco-friendly” gadgets that your friends and family won’t use, whose production emits greenhouse gases, to less credible carbon offsetting schemes, which lack robust design and monitoring. It’s probably fair to say, as most climate experts I’ve consulted do, that the most sustainable thing to give at Christmas is nothing at all. But depending on how your friends and family feel about Christmas, giving nothing might not be very sustainable for your personal relationships. So, for those feeling helpless or climate-anxious this holiday season, I’ve tried to find the middle ground. Here’s a guide to how you can target your gift giving to help reduce emissions.  Chelsea Kardokus ## **Donate to Climate Change Organizations** Right off the bat, we’ve got to acknowledge that the vast majority of the changes we need to make go far beyond what you can spend this Christmas. Governments need to set policies and make huge investments to drive the expansion of clean energy,[ the electrification of cars and buildings](https://time.com/6113719/optimistic-fighting-climate-change/), and much more. Big [businesses](https://time.com/6109440/hank-paulson-interview-cop26/) need to take responsibility for their emissions and make the decisions to cut them as fast as possible. So, give your most committed friends and family a donation in their name to an organization fighting for those systemic changes. You could support [the climate fund at The Founders Pledge**,**](https://funds.effectivealtruism.org/partners/founders-pledge-climate-change-fund) which analyzes the work of NGOs and charities to identify the most cost-effective donations. Or you can choose [a specific NGO](https://www.sustainabilitydegrees.com/blog/most-influential-sustainability-ngos/)—if you aren’t sure which, consult the guides produced by [the non-profit initiative Giving Green](https://www.givinggreen.earth/recommendations). If you know your gift recipient well enough, you could also consider giving to a political campaign: there are [a growing number of local politicians and candidates ](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-23/for-some-candidates-climate-change-is-now-a-local-issue)focusing on town or region-level climate action.  Chelsea Kardokus ## **Help Make Their Transportation Greener** According to[ the Environmental Protection Agency,](https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions) 29% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from transport, the greatest share of any sector. There are[ nearly two cars per household ](https://www.statista.com/statistics/551403/number-of-vehicles-per-household-in-the-united-states/)in the country, the vast majority fossil-fueled, and each one emits [on average around 4.6 metric tons](https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle) of carbon a year. If you can shift someone out of their car and on to zero or low-carbon transit, they’ll save roughly [404 grams of CO2 per mile travelled](https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle). You could buy them a [used bike](https://www.theproscloset.com/)—cheap ones go for around $100\. Or, pre-load $20 on a card for your local public transit system. The latter may be a little unsexy, but it has the added benefit of supporting a sector that is crucial for the climate and in [dire financial straits](https://time.com/5921917/mass-transit-covid-congress/) thanks to[ falls in ridership during the pandemic](https://time.com/5951769/andy-byford-mta-tfl-interview/). Maybe put a bow on the card. For longer distances, an [Amtrak gift card](https://www.amtrak.com/giftcards)—available for [any amount up to $500](https://www.amtrak.com/giftcards)—will cushion [rail’s often prohibitively expensive prices](https://time.com/6026599/amtrak-interview/) in the U.S., helping your recipient choose trains over flights for their next trip. [According to Amtrak](https://media.amtrak.com/2021/04/amtrak-adds-carbon-emission-savings-information-on-all-northeast-corridor-tickets/), on Northeast Corridor services, travelling on their services produces 83% less emissions than driving alone and up to 73% less than flying. **_Quick Links:_** [_AVASTA Single-Speed Urban Commuter Bike_](https://www.newegg.com/AVASTA-Bikes/BrandSubCat/ID-219262-1658) _|_ [_Amtrak Gift Card_](https://www.amtrak.com/giftcards)  Chelsea Kardokus ## **Give the Gift of More Efficient Electricity** The second biggest source of emissions in the U.S. is electricity, representing 25% of the total. The key to cutting them is a) making buildings and products more energy efficient and b) switching out energy sources from dirty coal and natural gas, to clean [wind](https://time.com/6123696/offshore-wind-jobs/), solar and hydropower. The Biden administration aims to reach “100% carbon pollution-free electricity” in the U.S. by 2035. Unless you have $20,000 to spend—the average cost of installing a set of solar panels in the U.S., [according to energy marketplace EnergySage](https://news.energysage.com/how-much-does-the-average-solar-panel-installation-cost-in-the-u-s/)—you’re not going to be able to give anyone a renewable energy system. But you can help them reduce their electricity use, and their energy bills. Start with lighting, which makes up [10%](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=38452) of household electricity use: a set of [energy efficient light bulbs](https://amzn.to/3y15FLP)**,** which consume [up to 85% less energy](https://www.energy.gov/articles/rise-and-shine-lighting-world-10-billion-led-bulbs) than conventional bulbs, go for roughly $20\. Or for a more exciting gift, try [a smart light system](https://amzn.to/3rB0l0C), for around $200, which allows you to remotely control not only the brightness, which saves on wasted energy, but also the color of your lights, which is just fun. Another option, if they’ll definitely use it, is a [solar charger for their devices](https://amzn.to/3doijLx)**,** around $60; or even a [solar-powered generator](https://amzn.to/31BooRW), for $200—$600. **_Quick Links:_**[_SYLVANIA LED A19 Light Bulb_](https://shop.ledvanceus.com/products/sylvania-led-60w-a19-bulb-2700k-12-pack) _|_ [_Philips Hue Bluetooth Lighting_](https://www.philips-hue.com/) _|_ [_BigBlue Foldable Portable Solar Phone Charger_](http://www.ibigblue.com/product/detail/?id=17) ### Most Popular from TIME --- ## **Or Give Them Heating That Won’t Heat the Planet** About 13% of U.S. emissions come from the non-electric needs of homes and businesses. Heating is the biggest culprit: combined, [heating rooms and water](https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/use-of-energy/homes.php) makes up 62% of the energy used in an average home, [per the U.S. Energy Information Administration.](https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/use-of-energy/homes.php) Again, you probably don’t have thousands of dollars to help your giftee replace their natural gas-powered stove or heating system with an electric one, or insulate their home. But a [smart thermostat](https://amzn.to/3EwQWLd), available from under $100, for example, allows you to control your home’s heating and cooling remotely via an app, cutting down on waste. A [low-flow shower head](https://www.treehugger.com/best-shower-heads-5086864), for around $40, can cut water consumption per shower in half while maintaining the high-pressure feel of a normal shower. That reduces the amount of water that needs to be heated. Or, just get them a really comfortable sweater that they won’t want to take off, ideally from a thrift or consignment store. **_Quick Links:_** [_Google Nest Thermostat_](https://store.google.com/gb/product/nest%5Flearning%5Fthermostat%5F3rd%5Fgen?hl=en-GB) _|_ [_High Sierra Low Flow Showerheads_](https://www.highsierrashowerheads.com/) _|_ [_Second-hand Sweaters on Depop_](https://www.depop.com/) _|_ [_thredUP_](https://www.thredup.com/)  Chelsea Kardokus ## **Presents For Foodies That Could Reduce Greenhouse Gases** Agriculture-related emissions, which account for 10% of the U.S. total, are arguably the easiest area for an individual to have an impact. A [2020 study](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378018306101) by researchers at John Hopkins University and other institutions found that the average U.S. resident would cut 30% off their food-related emissions by cutting out meat, which is more carbon-intensive to produce than plant-based foods. Cutting out animal products for two-thirds of meals, or all the time, would cut food-related emissions by nearly 60% and 85% respectively. Gifting a [vegan](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780738218991) or [vegetarian cookbook](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780399581755) could help spark a change in your recipient’s kitchen. Since plant-based cuisine has become a major trend in the food world, there are dozens of good ones to choose from, for around $25\. For those less likely to change what they do at home, try [a voucher for a fancy plant-based restaurant](https://www.foodnetwork.com/restaurants/photos/best-vegan-restaurants)**,** which [are increasingly popping up in U.S. cities](https://www.eatthis.com/news-best-vegan-restaurants-in-america/). Or, for a lower budget option, make them [a plant-based version of a dish](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781922417329) you know they like. **_Quick Links:_**[_Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi_](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780399581755) _|_ [_Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Romero_](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780738218991) _|_ [_The Vegan Butcher: The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Meat by Zacchary Bird_](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781922417329)  Chelsea Kardokus ## **If You Want to Gift Clothing or Similar Products** A significant chunk of U.S. emissions—23%—come from industry: that is, gases released by the burning of fossil fuels and by chemical processes in the production of goods and raw materials that we consume. And that chunk doesn’t take into account the emissions generated by the many products U.S. residents buy from overseas. The best way to reduce those emissions is to reduce how much we buy. Obviously, Christmas gift-giving flies in the face of that idea. Buying second-hand goods, though, from thrift stores or [online](https://time.com/6089003/depop-upcycling-fashion/), is a very easy way to put something under the tree without causing unnecessary carbon emissions. And[, as my colleague Alana Semeuls reports](https://time.com/6123420/buying-used-holiday-gifts-climate/), buying used gifts brings Christmas joys all of its own. Another way to target consumption emissions is to give items that support the circular economy, a movement to cut waste out from global supply chains and re-use materials as much as possible. For example, Patagonia, the outdoor wear retailer, began selling [“recrafted” items made from old clothes](https://wornwear.patagonia.com/recrafted) in 2019, for $40–$230\. They also offer [“gently used” ](https://wornwear.patagonia.com/)items and provide information on how to repair Patagonia products. Sneaker brand Thousand Fell sells [fully recyclable shoes](https://www.thousandfell.com/) for $100, plus a $20 recycling deposit that your friend or family will get back when they return the shoe to be recycled. Maybe they can spend that on a gift for you. **_Quick Links:_**[_Patagonia ReCrafted Down Jacket_](https://wornwear.patagonia.com/p/patagonia-recrafted-down-jacket/16001?color=AST&aqi=8761368531f957a22ade4f1d7ba03cea) _|_ [_Thousand Fell Men’s Court Sneakers_](https://www.thousandfell.com/collections/full-circle-holiday-shop/products/mens-court-black-white-black) _|_ [_Thousand Fell Women’s Court Sneakers_](https://www.thousandfell.com/collections/women/products/womens-court-white-white) --- _With thanks to Christos Maravelias, professor of energy and the environment, Claire White, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Forrest Meggers, associate professor of architecture, at Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, who provided suggestions for this guide._ ## Transcript [Namrata Iyer]: I think some of the biggest challenges my generation faces is convincing the previous generations about why it's important to talk about what we believe in. [Greta Thunberg]: We can't choose between us young people saying to adults you must behave but we can't wait for us to become the ones in charge because we don't have time for that. [Timothée Chalamet]: Your youth does not have to work against you by way of experience, your youth can be a virtue by way of what you ethically and earnestly expect of the world. [Billie Eilish]: People can be so selfish about the environment and their experience versus the globe and literally our lifespan. [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]: The America we grew up in is like nothing like the America our parents or grandparents grew up in. [Nyke Slawik]: When you have young people who are confronted with not having a future at all of course this is going to radicalize a whole generation. This is a question of survival basically. [John Kerry]: I don't doubt that we will get to a net zero carbon economy. Will we get there fast enough to heed the science and avoid the worst consequences? That's the battle. That's what we're trying to do with Glasgow. [Thunberg]: What do we want? [Audience]: Climate justice. [Thunberg]: When do we want it? [Audience]: Now. [Thunberg]: What do we want? [Audience]: Climate justice. [Thunberg]: When do we want it? [Audience]: Now. [Thunberg]: Thank you. [Justin Worland]: This generation has reframed the way we talk and think about climate to make it an issue of intergenerational justice. The question is will this anger turn into action? Will leaders who have been listening actually take the message to heart and do something about it? [Kerry]: Our diplomacy is guided by what the scientists are telling us we must achieve. Three years ago they had a report in 2018 the IPCC gave us 12 years within which to make the critical decisions to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis. [Hoesung Lee]: Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees is not impossible but will require unprecedented transitions in all aspects of society. [Worland]: It was alarming in its the seriousness with which it portrayed the consequences of climate change. We're talking about hundreds of millions of people migrating. We're talking about the possibility of countries disappearing in their entirety. We're talking about a world that is totally transformed. Already 85 percent of the world's population has been affected by human-caused climate change. [Jim Skea]: The message is over to governments at this stage. We've told you what you—the scientific facts, the evidence, the costs. It is up to the governments now to decide what to do with it. [Ciara Nugent]: We've had loads and loads of reports about climate change over the last couple of decades and the massive threat to our planet but despite all of the science there are still people who are skeptical about how much of a big deal it really is. And I think for those people it's much harder to dismiss young people, normal school kids because they're part of their communities, they're part of their families often. [Nyke Slawik]: What we need is politicians who implement the policies in their home countries and that's—that's what has not been happening in the last years. And so now young people are saying why go to school? Why go to university? Why start planning a family? Why buy a house when I don't even know that in 50 years time or 70 years time I will still have a future, because right now that's at stake. [Ocasio-Cortez]: If we do nothing this is what's going to happen: sea levels are going rise, crops are going to die out, there will be mass starvation. There's going to be all of these things that are going to happen and kids see that, they internalize it. [Charlotte Alter]: Researchers have found that young voters form their lifelong political attitudes in response to the events of their early adulthood, mostly late teens into the late 20s. And for millennials and gen z that period of time has been defined by climate catastrophe. [Christian Hidalgo]: I'm from Bakersfield, California, central valley. Earlier today I've been getting snapchats from all of my friends talking about how orange the sky is because of the wildfire surrounding us. The closest wildfire is probably not even 60 miles away but we have horrible air quality like we're—I'm in the middle of the valley and it just it really strongly affects us and that's what—that's what's drawn me to climate activism. [Isabella Guariniello]: This is my first strike ever. I watched a bunch of like sad penguin videos on YouTube and I started to get really sad when I learned about the effects of animals and like how much earth that we're actually losing. It's hard not to get discouraged when you're constantly learning about what people before you did wrong. [Sassy Fernandez]: Like I remember being in elementary school and watching Al Gore's documentary about climate change and the effects that we could be seeing within the next 10, 15 years and so far he's been pretty right about everything that he said in his documentary. I totally forgot what it was called but shout outs to my science teacher. [Thunberg]: We are being betrayed by those in power and they are failing us but we will not back down. And if you feel threatened by that then I have some very bad news for you. We will not be silenced because we are the change and change is coming whether you like it or not. We need to work together intergenerational of course that is the only way and we need to—everyone needs to participate and help out in the way we can. So I'm doing what I can. I'm trying to use my voice to spread awareness and to—to put pressure on those in power. [Alter]: When TIME put Greta on the cover in 2019 she had just gone from being a school girl protesting alone outside of Swedish parliament to being the leader of a global climate movement. That year her activism inspired four million people to join the global climate strike in 2019 which was at that point the largest climate movement in world history. [Worland]: Across the world with very few exceptions there are examples of people who have been inspired by her and have led—who've taken up the mantle the Fridays for Future movement in countries across the world. [Thunberg]: I'm not a leader or the face of the climate movement, I'm just one of many faces. [Vanessa Nakate]: There are far too little evidence of the 100 billion dollars per year that was promised to help climate vulnerable countries to meet these challenges. In fact, those funds were promised to arrive by 2020 and we are still waiting. [Nugent]: Vanessa Nakate, a Ugandan climate activist, is one of many people who have been working to remind us that climate action is going to be expensive and many countries who are most vulnerable to climate change can't afford to pay for it alone. [Nakate]: Historically Africa is responsible for only three percent of global emissions and yet some Africans are already suffering some of the worst and brutal impacts of climate change, so to me climate justice doesn't just have to be about reducing greenhouse gas emissions it goes beyond the primary disasters that we see. It is what happens in the aftermath of those disasters, what happens to families, what happens to individuals, what happens to communities. [Worland]: You think about the fact that the U.S. has emitted a quarter of emissions historically. Africa has emitted three percent of emissions historically and the U.S. is able to isolate itself, to pay for adaptation, to pay for the costs in a way that developing countries in sub-saharan Africa and across the globe just can't. And so climate change is a justice issue on many different levels. [Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala]: We we have to bear in mind that whether you're rich or poor, a rich country or poor country, there are some things you just cannot do on your own. You can't deliver on this pandemic on your own, you cannot deliver on climate change on your own. [Nakate]: So what we really want is a future that is healthy, that is sustainable, that is clean, that is livable and equitable for all of us. [Nugent]: Some of the activists that I speak to are realizing they can't wait for the older generation to take action so they're trying to get elected to governments themselves. In Germany, the Green Party has really been in the ascendancy. In September they've almost doubled their number of seats in parliament and one of the 118 lawmakers they now have is Nyke Slawik. She's a 27 year old German politician who was elected in September to the Bundestag and she has been involved in climate activism for almost 12 years and now she has political power to make a difference. [Slawik]: The time of just implementing small changes has passed and this is a reality we as younger politicians are bringing with us to the parliament now but of course there's lots of older colleagues who have not quite grasped this yet, and I think this is why we might be more determined to not go for the small compromises, to be a bit more rebellious about these things. The last German government has decided to exit coal in 2038 which is still too late way too late but now we even have the chance to accelerate energy transition from coal to renewables way quicker and that's a major achievement of the youth climate movement. [Alter]: In the United States young voters across the political spectrum understand that climate change is a major issue that needs to be addressed, they just disagree on how best to do it. So even younger Republicans, Republicans under 40, they understand that climate change is happening, they understand that something has to be done about it, they just don't agree with their more progressive peers about the scale and scope of what that intervention needs to be. So this is a big shift from a couple generations ago when you had one side insisting that climate change was a problem and the other side basically denying that it was happening at all. [Worland]: When TIME spoke to Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, he spoke about how the youth movement had made him want to do better. When I talked to the U.N. Secretary General he talked about how he was trying to bring youth into the climate discussion because it had enthused him and he thought it would help change the conversation. Talking to members of Congress about how inspirational Greta was really made clear to me that she was changing the conversation. [Nugent]: In my reporting activists are telling me that COP 26 is a crucial moment to find out if politicians are really listening to them and really taking action or if they're just saying they're listening and delaying action. [Nakate]: Leaders keep praising young people for standing up and protesting but saving the world needs action, it needs decisions from the leaders, decisions that prioritize the lives of the people and the planet, and that is not something that we are doing. The words of the leaders are not matching up with their actions. [Thunberg]: Words. Words that sound great but so far has led to no action. Our hopes and dreams drown in their empty words and promises. Of course we need constructive dialogue but they've now had 30 years of blah blah blah and where has that led us? [Jane Goodall]: I'm about to leave the world and leave it behind me with all the mess whereas young people have to grow up into it. That's why they need every bit of help they can. And if, you know, if they succumb to the doom and gloom ,which many have, then they lose hope. If you lose hope that's the end, because if you don't hope that there's a way out, if you don't hope that your actions can make a difference then you sink into apathy and do nothing. So hope is absolutely crucial if we're to get through this. [Singing]: We're going to strike because our waters are rising. We're going to strike because our people are dying. We're going to strike for life and everything we love. We're going to strike for you, will you strike for us? We're going to strike for you, will you strike for us? We're going to strike because our waters are rising. We're going to strike because our people are dying. We're going to strike for life and everything we love. We're going to strike for you, will you strike for us? We're going to strike for you, will you strike for us? Beautiful. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6125589/holiday-gifts-to-fight-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6125589/holiday-gifts-to-fight-climate-change/"},"headline":"Holiday Gifts That Actually Fight Climate Change","datePublished":"2021-12-07T19:09:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T09:17:21.697Z","description":"The best thing for the planet is probably to give nothing at all. 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