Let’s not sugar-coat it: tackling climate change can feel overwhelming. If you’ve ever tried to talk about it, you know that most people find the subject heavy and complicated. To combat this overwhelm we need to keep things simple. Speak in plain english. And, where appropriate, use analogies to help communicate our message.

So, here’s an analogy that helps communicate our message.

Think about tackling climate change like tackling obesity

Before we dive in, let’s address the elephant in the room. The term "climate change" feels a little too neutral, doesn’t it? It’s almost as if the problem is a slight inconvenience. In 2019, The Guardian actually updated its style guide to refer to the issue as the ‘climate emergency, crisis, or breakdown’ rather than ‘climate change’. And that makes sense. Imagine if we referred to obesity as ‘weight change.’ It just doesn’t hit home the same, does it? By calling a problem what it really is – like ‘being out of shape’, ‘overweight’ or ‘fat’ – it makes it much clearer.

Of course, I realise that renaming the issue doesn’t fix it. Obesity is a major health crisis, and we face a similarly monumental challenge. Somewhat terrifyingly it's predicted that by 2035 half the global population will be obese. [gulp]

So how do these two big challenges relate?

Well, both stem from bad habits. Just as overeating and an addiction to sugar is driving the world’s weight gain, the climate emergency is also the result of an addiction – this time, to burning fossil fuels. We’ve relied on cheap, abundant energy for decades, and it’s been driven by burning carbon that’s been stored in the earth for centuries.

When you want to lose weight, tracking your calories can help. But cutting out cake and going for a run? That’s where the real impact is. The same is true for climate action. Reducing emissions, transitioning to renewable energy, and striving for accurate carbon accounting are all focused on controlling your diet. They’re absolutely essential to prevent things from getting worse.

But here’s the kicker: To truly tackle the climate emergency, we need to go beyond just reducing emissions. We need to commit to that exercise regime which in climate terms is getting active on removing the carbon dioxide we've already pumped into the atmosphere. And the faster we remove it, the healthier our planet will be.

It’s the simplicity of this analogy that makes it so effective. The goal is a healthy climate – one that’s in balance. So, logically, we need a balanced approach to fixing it.

The truth is, we’ve been “in the red” (or, to stick with our analogy, “overweight”) since 1988 which was the last time we had safe levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. We won’t hit global net zero without rapidly scaling up carbon removal technologies. Yet, the conversation about climate action today is still overwhelmingly focused on tracking and then reducing emissions. We see it in corporate reports, at industry conferences, and in government regulations. It’s as though we’ve become obsessed with only half of the equation.

Now, I’m no dieting expert, but two things seem clear when it comes to weight loss:

• The initial progress is easy, but it gets harder as you go.

• The only way to truly lose weight and keep it off is to stay active.

For the climate, the same applies. We need businesses to go beyond just claiming "carbon neutrality" and start talking about their climate contributions – not only in reducing emissions but in removing the emissions we've already released.

Now is the time to act

These steps shouldn’t happen one after the other - they can and should happen in parallel.

Think about getting in shape. You could:

• Spend ages counting calories precisely

• Design the perfect diet plan

• Spend 5-15 years fully adjusting to your new diet

• And then … finally start to think about exercising

Or – you could put the chocolate bar back on the shelf and run around the block.

The weight-loss industry is full of options, diets, and programs. Similarly, the climate movement has a lot of terms like "carbon neutral," "climate neutral," and "net zero." It’s a maze of different approaches. But don’t let that overwhelm you. Here’s a simple playbook:

• Don’t let perfection get in the way of making progress.

• Do everything you can to reduce emissions. Today.

• And, just as importantly, do everything you can to remove the emissions we’ve already put into the atmosphere. Today.

By embracing this approach, we can make real, lasting progress towards a healthier planet. The key is balance – and a commitment to doing all we can, both now and in the future.