Install solar panels

A direct way to reduce your energy related carbon footprint is to install solar panels on your roof. This guarantees that a proportion of your home energy usage comes directly from a renewable source, and comes with additional benefits:

• When electricity is transported from the generation source (like a power plant) to your home, some of the generated electricity is lost in the journey. This does not happen with solar panels on your roof.
• By being smart about when you do energy intensive activities like using a washing machine, you can reduce your electricity bill. On average, solar panels pay for themselves in energy savings after eight years.
• Many countries have incentives, rebates and tax breaks for solar panel installation, bringing the initial cost of installation down.

If you rent or live in an apartment, or are not able to install solar panels for another reason, as a fallback option you can contribute to community solar projects if one exists in your area (in the US you can check out Arcadia Community Solar, in the Netherlands Om Energie, Ireland has Sustainable Energy Communities, and similar initiatives exist in other countries).