IPCC vice chair Ko Barrett, a top scientist at NOAA, explained the importance of tackling the question of what individuals can do in inspiring greater change. “I love the storyline about individuals, not because I’m being Pollyanna-ish that that can solve the problem.” But she thinks that, in looking at what people can do in their own lives and, more importantly, their communities, “we actually magnify the value of our individual actions to a scale that matters in cities and towns. That’s the scale that we can really engage because people can see the broader impact of collective action.” Take one example of how individual action can have broader network effects: The IPCC report looks at what happens when a neighbor installs a rooftop solar panel. Sure, it reduces that household’s footprint, but it also makes it more likely for others in the neighborhood to adopt solar energy too, because of how it nudges social norms and expectations. The house with solar panels also serves as something like a role model for a new way we could all live. Now think bigger than a solar panel: A person connects with others in their community to pass an ordinance that updates energy efficiency measures for the town’s buildings. That’s organized collective action. “Collective action as part of social or lifestyle movements underpins system change,” the report says. The scientists nod to the climate strikes that have given voice to youth in more than 180 countries, which help build social trust and citizen-led networks. These social movements have exploded as the first generation growing up with the harsher realities of climate change becomes a political force globally. Barrett recognizes that “more and more, the readers of the science reports are not just policymakers at the national level. There are very many well-informed citizens on climate science now. Bringing more information that is immediately useful to them is really powerful.”