The project
A shared rhythm, around the world.
To act together.
Pulse 2050 proposes action periods synchronized worldwide to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They begin with simple, short actions, then gradually become longer as society adapts and makes their lasting adoption easier.
01
A clear objective
Achieve lasting reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Pulse 2050 deliberately focuses on one objective: reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
This focus is intended to bring people together around a shared objective citizens, businesses, local authorities and organizations that may have different views on other environmental, economic or social issues.
This choice does not diminish the importance of other environmental issues. It simply makes it possible to build mobilization around an area where consensus is broadest.
02
A global moment
Act at the same time to create a genuine sense of collective effort.
At regular intervals, Pulse 2050 invites citizens, businesses and local authorities to take part in action periods organized at the same time around the world.
The calendar is shared, but the actions may differ from one country to another. They need to reflect local realities: infrastructure, energy systems, levels of development, and economic or social constraints.
The objective is therefore not for everyone to do the same thing, but for everyone to be able to contribute at the same time to a common objective.
Why act at the same time?
When an effort is made in isolation, it can feel pointless or unfair: “Why should I make an effort if others do not?”
This feeling can exist between individuals, but also between businesses, regions or countries.
By giving everyone the same shared moment, Pulse 2050 aims to make the collective effort visible and shared. Everyone can know that, at the same time, others elsewhere in the world are taking part too.
This synchronization does not mean everyone will act in the same way or with the same intensity. It creates a common framework to reduce the feeling of acting alone.
Why can actions differ between countries?
To be relevant at a global scale, mobilization must take account of local realities. Adapting the actions makes it possible, in particular:
- to focus efforts on the main sources of emissions in each territory;
- to propose actions that are understandable, accessible and acceptable locally;
- to use appropriate indicators for the actions undertaken and the data actually available.
The framework and calendar remain shared; the way people contribute can vary in order to preserve relevance, effectiveness and the ability to attract participation.
03
A progressive rhythm
Start simply, then make action progressively more lasting.
Lasting changes to habits, organizations and infrastructure take time.
Pulse 2050 therefore proposes starting with short action periods, repeated four times a year, in step with the seasons, then gradually extending them over the years.
This regular rhythm leaves time to measure results, improve the actions and prepare the next edition. Some changes may also be maintained between two action periods.
As society adapts and makes these changes easier, what initially required a temporary effort can gradually become a new way of operating in everyday life.
See an example pathway to 2050
1 day 2032
5 days 2037
2 weeks 2044
1 month 2050
lasting
Illustrative pathway: the exact duration and rhythm will need to be defined as the project is developed.
Why start with short periods?
Immediately asking for major, permanent changes could significantly limit participation.
A short period, by contrast, makes it possible to test actions, identify what works, get organized and learn lessons before the next edition.
Repetition then makes it possible to go progressively further as behaviours evolve and solutions become more accessible.
The principle is not to do little, but to begin at a level that many people can realistically join, then progressively increase the ambition.
Does everyone have to progress at the same pace?
No. The project’s progression sets a collective rhythm, but does not require every participant to have the same level of commitment at the same time.
Someone may begin by following the mobilization, try one simple action during a first edition, then return later with more actions or more demanding ones.
The objective is for the framework to progress over time, while allowing everyone to join the movement and develop at their own pace.
04
Voluntary mobilization
Give everyone a way to act within a collective framework.
Pulse 2050 is based on voluntary participation. Everyone can join the action periods according to their possibilities, context and desired level of commitment.
Climate policies move at different speeds depending on countries, their priorities, resources and political calendars. Pulse 2050 therefore proposes a mobilization framework that can move forward in parallel, without waiting for every public policy decision to be aligned at the same time.
Public policies, investment and regulation remain essential. Pulse 2050 instead aims to create social momentum that can support and accelerate these transformations.
How can people regain a sense of agency when facing a global problem?
Faced with climate change, many citizens feel growing concern. When no accessible way to act seems available, this concern can gradually give way to a sense of powerlessness or anxiety, particularly among some younger people.
Offering a simple, practical and collective way to act can help turn concern into engagement. Action does not make the difficulties disappear, but it can restore the sense that each person can contribute to the solution.
Pulse 2050 seeks to create this framework by regularly providing a new opportunity to join the movement or go a little further, before fatalism and a lasting sense of powerlessness take hold.
What forms of influence do we have over the long term?
In the short term, households have direct control over only part of global emissions. But our ability to influence change is not limited to the emissions we can reduce immediately.
- Through household equipment: renovating a home, changing a heating system, or choosing a more efficient vehicle or appliances.
- Through consumption: choosing certain products, services, modes of transport or suppliers.
- Through professional activity: changing purchasing, travel, infrastructure or practices within an organization.
- Through savings and investments: choosing the projects, companies or financial institutions supported by one’s money.
- As a citizen and member of a community: supporting public policies, taking part in local decisions and contributing to collective mobilization.
These levers do not give each individual direct control over all emissions. But when combined, they can lead to lasting changes in demand, investment, organizations and collective rules.
Why can action become easier over time?
When demand becomes sufficiently visible, businesses may have an incentive to adapt what they offer, local authorities to adjust their services, and public authorities to make certain changes easier.
Solutions that were initially difficult, costly or hard to access can then become easier to adopt.
Mobilization and changes in the environment in which we act can therefore reinforce each other.
How could mobilization scale up quickly?
To produce a meaningful effect, Pulse 2050 will need to be able to move from still-limited participation to several million participants. This growth will probably not be possible through conventional communication alone: mechanisms will need to make the mobilization visible and make it easier to spread.
- Prepare a pre-mobilization network, made up of citizens as well as people or organizations that already reach large communities, so they can widely relay the call before an action period.
- Make the mobilization immediately visible, for example through simple and recognizable actions in public spaces, shared signs online, or a global map showing participant numbers and mobilized territories in real time.
- Make joining the movement as easy as possible, in particular by enabling partner platforms or organizations to directly invite their users, employees or members to join an edition.
The objective is to reach a critical mass large enough to trigger a reinforcing effect: the more visible the mobilization becomes, the more it can attract new participants and new relays, which in turn increase its visibility.
These mechanisms have not yet been finalized. They will need to be tested and evaluated according to their actual ability to attract new participants, encourage action and bring people back for later editions.
05
Measurable progress
Visible results to sustain motivation and give others a reason to join the movement.
One of the observations behind Pulse 2050 is simple: progress often remains hard to see.
When results are not visible, it becomes difficult to know whether the effort is useful and therefore to sustain motivation over time. Conversely, seeing the effects of collective mobilization can strengthen the desire to continue, but can also give new participants a concrete reason to join future editions.
Tracking progress therefore has a central role in the project. It should make the movement’s development visible, build confidence and inform the preparation of future action periods.
Which indicators could be used to track results?
To interpret results with the necessary caution, Pulse 2050 distinguishes four categories of indicators:
- Atmospheric observation: changes in greenhouse gases measured in the atmosphere.
- Measured activity convertible into emissions: data such as energy consumption, fuel use or traffic that can be translated with sufficient reliability into greenhouse gas emissions.
- Influence indicators: data showing a favourable change without allowing a sufficiently robust conversion into avoided emissions, for example public transport use or certain changes in consumption.
- Self-reported activity: actions reported by participants, with varying possible levels of documentation or verification.
Pulse 2050 will primarily use measurable activities convertible into emissions to estimate its climate impact. Influence indicators and self-reported activities will be used more to understand participation and the momentum created. Atmospheric observations will primarily be used, over the long term, to track broader societal change and its impact on the atmosphere.
Why is measuring impact difficult?
Measuring the real impact of global mobilization is far from simple.
Greenhouse gas emissions depend on many factors. It will therefore not always be possible to identify precisely how much of a change can actually be attributed to Pulse 2050.
Building indicators that are credible, understandable and comparable over time is therefore one of the project’s main challenges.
The objective is not to claim perfect measurement of every effect of the mobilization, but to build indicators that are sufficiently robust and relevant to understand how it develops and to clarify the results achieved.
The indicators are therefore not only a communication tool: their quality is a condition for the project’s credibility and success.
Why is making progress visible essential?
A single action period will not be enough to transform society in a lasting way. The indicators gain their full meaning through the succession of editions.
At each new edition, results can be compared with previous ones to make progress over time visible and, where the data allows, show their contribution to an emissions-reduction pathway.
A global objective that can sometimes feel abstract can thus become a more tangible pathway, updated after each edition.
This visibility is part of the mechanism Pulse 2050 is seeking to create: visible results can strengthen participation; stronger participation can enable broader mobilization; broader mobilization can in turn produce more results and attract new participants.
The indicators will also help identify what works, adjust the proposed actions and progressively improve the project’s effectiveness.
A concrete example
What might Pulse 2050 look like in practice?
Three people, three different contexts, one shared global moment.
Imagine the same action period taking place in three parts of the world. Participants share the same objective and act at the same time, but the actions they choose depend on their circumstances and the options available locally.
She starts simply
Sophie
Sophie is familiar with climate issues but has never really changed her habits. For this first edition, she chooses two actions she feels she can easily maintain during the period: use public transport more and reduce some non-essential purchases.
The effort is limited in time, and she knows that other people are taking part at the same moment. In a later edition, she may keep one of these habits and try a new action.
He already takes action and goes further
Karim
Karim has already reduced some of his everyday emissions. During the same period, he therefore chooses different actions: further reduce car use where possible, change some meals, and postpone an air journey that can be postponed.
For him, Pulse 2050 mainly provides a regular opportunity to go a little further. Over successive editions, some practices may become permanent.
She can also act within her organization
Mei
Mei takes part as a citizen, but she also works for a company that has joined the mobilization. During the action period, the company reduces some business travel, adjusts its energy use and makes lower-emission practices easier.
Mei can therefore act both through her own choices and through her professional activity. Some actions become easier because the organization she works in is changing too.
What if several million people did the same?
These three journeys are only examples. At scale, participants could act across very different areas: transport, energy, food, purchasing, housing or professional practices.
As mobilization grows, businesses, local authorities and public institutions can also adapt their offerings, services and infrastructure. What initially depended on individual effort can then gradually become simpler and more accessible for everyone.
The concept is defined.
The practical system still needs to be built.
Pulse 2050 defines a framework and a set of principles, but many questions still need to be explored further, tested and confronted with reality.
This is the stage we now want to build collectively.