How to fight climate change with World Vision Canada on Earth Day…and beyond

It’s the fight of a lifetime. Of all our lifetimes.

And on this Earth Day, it’s time to join the fight.

In one corner, climate change:

• Relentless. Rising. Unforgiving.
• Fueling droughts. Floods. Hunger.
• Hitting the world’s most fragile contexts —especially children—the hardest.

In the other corner, you:

• With compassion. Courage. The power to act.
• Ready to fight for climate justice for all.
• With more influence than you think.

Climate change is a daunting opponent. It seems like an unfair fight.

But it is beatable. Especially when you and World Vision Canada are in the corner of communities, families and children most impacted by climate change.

• Climate change facts and figures: Climate change is rising temperatures, right? There’s much more to it than that. Get a deeper understanding of what exactly climate change is and the causes behind it.

There are real, practical ways to fight climate change—both globally and in your everyday life. Here’s what that looks like.

What the fight against climate change looks like

The fight against climate change isn’t happening in a boxing ring.

It happens in villages washed away by devastating floods. It happens on farms suffering from crippling droughts. It happens in cities choking amidst rising pollution levels.

Right now, climate change has the upper hand. Consider these statistics:

• Four out of five children face at least one climate change hazard (floods, heatwaves, etc.) every year.
• Since 2016, 20,000 children every day have been displaced due to extreme weather events.
• Two-thirds of global river systems experienced extreme flooding, drought —or both—in 2025.
• In 2024, extreme weather interrupted schooling for over 240 million students in 85 countries.

It also seems like climate change is getting stronger. If global temperatures increase by one degree Celsius by 2030, an additional 98 million people will experience extreme poverty.

The impact of climate change on the most vulnerable people

Climate change is a relentless opponent. It gets stronger as the fight continues. And it likes to target those most vulnerable among us.

Approximately 80 per cent of the world’s poorest people live in regions impacted by climate change, broken down in this way

• High heat and soaring temperatures impact over 608 million people.
• Air pollution affects more than 577 million people.
• Flooding threatens over 465 million people.
• Extreme droughts impact almost 210 million people.

And for nearly 310 million people, they are facing at least three of these climate change dangers. If not all of them.

Imagine waking up. It’s too hot to go outside. A flash flood appears out of nowhere. Fresh air is blanketed in smog. A devastating drought extends another day.

What do you do?

You can turn on a fan or air conditioning. Stay inside. Find clean water. Wait for the danger to pass.

But for 2.1 billion people worldwide, there are no protections against climate change. No social safety nets. No protective measures. No places for refuge.

Boxing is all about counters and minimizing impact. Sticking and moving. Rolling the shoulders. Head nods and jabs. Yet, climate change is cunning and does not fight fairly. It attacks in multiple ways and, for the world’s most vulnerable, offers no easy escape or respite.

Again, what do you do?

• Local climate justice in action: Meet Sofia from Mozambique. Girls like her are standing up to advance equity and climate justice in their communities.

Ways to fight climate change

This is what fighting back against climate change looks like.

It’s teaching climate-smart Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) techniques to farmers so they can grow food in land depleted or damaged by climate change.

• How important is food security? There’s nothing without it. See how food security connects to everything —from agriculture to health to women’s empowerment to climate change.

It’s helping communities develop flood-resistant farming techniques and build early-warning communication systems to protect against future deluges.

• How does flooding happen? You know what a flood is. But did you know there are seven causes of flooding? Learn what they are and the effects flooding has on people, places and property.

It’s providing access to clean water systems that withstand extreme heat, rising pollution levels and changing rainfall patterns.

• What happens to humans without clean water? By 2050, half the world’s population may not have safe water to drink and use. Discover what life would be like for over 5 billion people.

How to fight climate change at home

People around the world are fighting back. And as someone in their corner, you can also combat climate change, right where you are. Here’s how to fight climate change at home:

• Use less energy: Turn off lights. Unplug devices that are not in use or are not charged. Switch to energy-efficient appliances whenever you can.
• Waste less, reuse more: Follow the 3Rs. Reduce reliance on single-use products. Reuse goods and items. Recycle materials fully and properly.
• Make climate-conscious food choices: Eat more plant-based meals. Lower food waste by planning before cooking and storing food carefully afterwards. Compost food waste whenever possible.

• Five common foods that drive deforestation: Deforestation is a major driver of climate change. And these five common foods we eat daily are major contributors to global deforestation.

• Choose sustainable transportation. Walk. Bike. Carpool. Take the bus or train. Reduce emissions by leaving the car at home.
• Speak up: Talk about climate change. Share what you’ve learned and how you feel. Advocate for change in your community and around the world.

Why we need to keep up the fight against climate change

The fight between us and climate change isn’t in the early rounds anymore. But it’s not in the final rounds, either. Not yet.

We’re in the middle of the fight. We’ve been hit by floods, droughts and poverty caused by climate change. We have science, data and the lived experiences of climate refugees to help counter its effects. And just when climate change knocks us down with some of the worst natural disasters in history …

…we get back up.

We shake off the impact. We rebuild. We learn lessons and attempt to change our behavior. We get back in the ring, put up our dukes, and keep fighting.

But each time we get back up, we carry the toll of the last knockdown. The effort needed to fight climate change increases. Recovery takes longer and the damage accumulates.

And still we fight.

Is there a "final round" in the fight against climate change?

In this fight, there isn’t a set number of rounds. There’s no technical knockout (TKO) punch and nobody—certainly not us—is throwing in the towel.

However, there may be a threshold where the fight shifts from tough to perhaps insurmountable. And it’s two degrees Celsius. Should global temperatures rise by what feels like a small amount:

• Over two billion people would be exposed to lethal heat and humidity (as in, it could be fatal in just a few hours) every year.
• Rainfall could increase by 20 per cent, leading to widespread flooding. Conversely, 50 per cent more people globally would experience water scarcity from increased droughts.
• Up to 20,000 plant and animal species would go extinct in delicate ecosystems like the Amazon Rainforest and Galapagos Islands.
• Arctic sea ice could melt completely which could increase sea levels and speed up global warming (since ice reflects direct sunlight away from the planet).
• Upwards of 80 billion dollars in crops will be lost every year. Maize production, for example, could drop by up to 54 per cent.

Two degrees Celsius doesn’t mean the end of the fight. The bell won’t ring and nobody’s arm is being raised in victory.

But the damage slows down our ability to react and respond. To rebuild. To learn and adapt. Our punches against climate change become weaker.

It hits us. We hit back. At some point, we need to start bobbing and weaving more effectively. To avoid the hooks and uppercuts— and to start striking back with force.

Because right now, it’s not a devastating—or metaphorical—fist across the jaw we must be wary of. Rather, it’s an endless stream of small jabs we don’t see, feel or register that decide the fight.

Best ways to fight climate change with World Vision Canada

Earth Day is a great day to combat climate change. Yet it’s just one day. One round in the fight. And the fight against this crisis doesn’t end when the day does.

This is where you step into the ring. To move from watching the fight to changing its outcome—with World Vision Canada in your corner.

Here’s how to fight climate change. Today. Tomorrow. Together. Always:

END climate impacts

• Help create a thriving environment for children and future generations by restoring natural habitats and fighting for climate justice.

Give crop seeds for farmers

• Just a handful of fruit and vegetable seeds can provide fresh food and extra income for farmers, families and communities.

Donate solar panels

• There’s nothing cleaner than solar energy. Provide clean energy for health facilities, irrigation systems and more.

Help drill a well

• Transform a community with life-saving and life-giving water to those who need it most.