Consume Less, Save More
Fighting climate change starts with personal consumption.
The climate crisis can’t be solved by carbon-sucking tech alone. If we’re going to heal the planet and stave off the worst effects of climate change, we need to change how we consume.
More specifically, we need to consume less. Way less.
But think about it: consuming less really just means saving more money and building wealth faster. It’s a win for the planet and for your wallet.
It’s time to make immediate and massive change.
And we’ve got the perfect tool for the job: the Mogo Visa* Platinum Prepaid Card (but you can just call it the MogoCard). The MogoCard is designed to help you cut down on overconsumption by spending less, and helping you save money in the process. And for the purchases you have to make, we plant a tree every time you tap your card, for free.
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Overconsumption is Fuelling Climate Change
The data are indisputable: the way affluent people and countries consume is disproportionately driving climate change.
Ready for receipts? Cuz we got em.
A recent Oxfam report states that “in the 25 years from 1990 to 2015, annual global carbon emissions grew by 60%, approximately doubling total global cumulative emissions.” But this increase wasn’t equal across the board.
According to the report, the richest 10% of the entire world’s population—people that make $38,000 USD annually or more in 2015—were responsible for a whopping 52% of cumulative carbon emissions. And the richest 1%, earning $109,000 USD or more per year, were responsible for 15% of emissions.
In a 2020 report published in Nature Communications, Wiedmann et al. write that very affluent people drive the use of natural resources in three ways: through high levels of consumption; through their role in the capitalist class; and by making overconsumption seem normal across the population.
And just buying “green” products isn’t enough to fix the problem.
“Since the level of consumption determines total impacts, affluence needs to be addressed by reducing consumption, not just greening it,” they write.
Y’all, even the Pope is on board. In an October 2020 speech, Pope Francis urged people to pull their investments from companies that aren’t committed to protecting our environment.
“The current economic system is unsustainable. We are faced with a moral imperative ... to rethink many things,” the Pope said. He named the means of production, consumerism, waste, harmful energy sources, and indifference to the poor as key factors.
Science and the Pope agree: it’s your move, people of Canada. Even if you make less than $38,000 USD per year—many of us do, no shame!—we live in an affluent country that drives trends in consumerism.
Our only option? You heard the scientists and also the Pope: quit buying so much. Period.
Consume Less, Save More
Don’t freak out! This is actually a good thing. We all want to build wealth, right? The single easiest way to build your wealth quickly is to control your spending.
As in, spend less. Spend less on stuff. Buy fewer things. You get the point.
Every time you tap your card, two things happen. First, we plant a tree (and over its lifetime, that tree sucks around 500 lbs of CO2 out of the air and sequesters it. Love that.).2 Second, you get a notification that tells you what you’ve spent and your remaining balance.
That instant feedback gives you top notch visibility into your finances, and can help you keep on track and on budget.
The result? You can spend less. You can consume less. You can plant trees. You can contribute to a healthier world.
There’s so much out there that will bring lasting fulfillment without mindless consumption.
Change the World with the MogoCard
So what’s our endgame in all this? To make Canada climate positive. Yep, the entire country.
Plus, planting just 10 trees a month could make you climate positive by removing more CO2 from the air than the average Canadian produces.4 That’s only 10 taps of the MogoCard per month!
There you have it: spend control helps you reduce frivolous purchases and tree planting helps to offset the CO2 emissions you can’t avoid.
It’s that simple. And it’s free.
It’s a no brainer if you care about the planet. By just tapping your little card for your everyday purchases that you’d be making anyway, you can make a real difference compared with other low impact actions you might have been taking (metal straws only go so far). Don’t get us wrong: those actions and living sustainably help—but the MogoCard does so much more.
Amplify your impact with the MogoCard, and join us as we help make Canada climate positive.
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This blog is provided for informational purposes only.
*Trademark of Visa International Service Association and used under licence by Peoples Trust Company. Mogo Visa Platinum Prepaid Card is issued by Peoples Trust Company pursuant to licence by Visa Int. and is subject to Terms and Conditions, visit mogo.ca for full details. Your MogoCard balance is not insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC). MogoCard means the Mogo Visa Platinum Prepaid Card.
1-Based on an online survey of active MogoCard users by Mogo Inc. conducted between July 13, 2021 and July 16, 2021, with 1,446 respondents to a combination of multiple choice and fillable text box questions. 66.5% of respondents reported that they were spending less on discretionary spending now that they were using the MogoCard, with respondents reporting that they believed to have an average savings of $201 per month (based on 902 respondents who specified an amount and excluding 60 respondents who did not specify any amount).
2-According to research conducted by Veritree Technology Inc. 500 lbs. is an approximate amount based on Above-Ground-Carbon (AGC) and Below Ground Carbon (BGC) sequestration estimates contained in several scientific research papers regarding the carbon sequestration of Mangrove trees (the “Research”). The Research contains various ranges for the rate of carbon sequestration per hectare of land. In order to arrive at the approximate amount of 500 lbs., Veritree triangulated data points from the Research regarding AGC and BGC sequestration estimates, and then converted those results into the approximate amount of lbs. per tree.
3-Based on the most recently available data from 2019 and assuming future data follows a similar trajectory. If 20% of the approximately 17.79 billion transactions done in Canada in 2019, including by cash, credit card, debit card, prepaid card and via ATM, were instead done on the MogoCard that would result in approximately 3.5 billion trees being planted. 3.5 billion trees multiplied by 500 lbs of CO2 equals 1.75 trillion pounds of CO2 offset over the lifetime of the trees (approximately 25 years) which exceeds the approximately 1.609 trillion pounds of carbon that Canada emitted in 2019, thereby making Canada’s 2019 carbon footprint climate positive (by eliminating more CO2 than emitted). Learn more: Blog .
4-An average Canadian emits approximately 42,000 lbs of CO2 in one year. Each tree will absorb approximately 500lbs of CO2 over its lifetime (approximately 25 years). For every purchase made with the MogoCard, a tree will be planted. If you used your MogoCard for 10 purchases each month, 10 trees would be planted. If 10 trees were planted every month for a year, that would be 120 trees, and those 120 trees would absorb a combined total of 60,000 lbs of CO2 over their lifetimes (25 years), making the average Canadian climate positive. Learn more: Blog .