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I have often spoken of my childhood in the ����ֱ�� of the 1930s, when we lived on very limited resources and generated literally zero waste harmful to the environment. Whatever water we had went to exceptionally good use, no food waste was ever tolerated, and we had no electricity to squander.

The resources 8 billion humans waste today represent almost half of those we consume. It is only the poor who practice any kind of useful conservation and waste management today, having access only to limited resources, which they conserve as much as possible. In contrast, it is absolutely disgraceful to see how the rest of us continue to waste precious resources, contributing acutely to environmental destruction and climate change.

By focusing almost exclusively on greenhouse gas emissions in the context of climate change and conservation efforts, we employ a concept that is too abstract and removed from people’s daily lives. We have understood, of course, that our patterns of consumption, travel and resource usage contribute to climate change and environmental damage, but the concept of carbon emissions does not offer us clear parameters to abide by in our everyday lives in order to preserve our environment. The concept of cutting waste is much easier to understand for most people, as we take our showers, throw away uneaten food or witness our electricity and other utility bills rise inexorably. The deceptive and flowery language we use at major conferences only allows us to turn around in circles, absolving us of any useful efforts we could make.

Cutting waste is something each one of us can easily implement on a daily basis. Reducing the amount of water we use in the shower or when washing dishes, switching off appliances that waste electricity, and making sure that no food we buy or cook goes to waste are habits that can be learned by all and will offer instantly visible savings on our otherwise rapidly increasing bills.

In parallel, of course, we must also curb the tremendously wasteful practices built into many businesses and corporations. We can no longer afford to support and even subsidize such practices; we must all take responsibility — individually, as citizens, and as customers of businesses — for cutting shameful waste and making the simple changes that stand to contribute tremendously to efforts of conservation and the reining in of runaway climate change.

Just to remind us of the extent of what we are facing when it comes to waste, let us re-examine some well-known indicators. UN agencies estimate that one-third of our global food production goes to waste and that our oceans could contain more plastic than fish, by weight, in 2050. It is estimated that close to 10 percent of global energy production and 30 percent of water is wasted through inefficiencies in transmission, that almost 30 percent of the energy used in the homes of the developed world is wasted, and that, on average, 60 percent of water used for agriculture is wasted due to inefficiencies.

Let us hold back on the conferences and conventions for a little while and instead offer people clearer and more immediately actionable information on how to cut waste.

These numbers make it abundantly clear that by reducing waste and inefficiencies, we stand to make tremendous gains toward the sustainable use of resources and a drastic reduction in the daily damage we inflict on our environment. In effect, waste can be seen as the mother of all pollution.

This is a very tangible reality we are describing, one that any individual on the planet can understand and relate to. We have also all understood that given the societies we live in today and our growth models, we cannot count on governments and institutions alone to pull us back from the brink of environmental disaster. Through the individual participation of every concerned inhabitant of this planet — all 8 billion of us — we can make a great difference by cutting waste in all aspects of our daily lives. This does not mean depriving ourselves of anything; it simply means being smarter about the way we employ and consume resources such as food, water and electricity. This week, ����ֱ�� sent a delegation to Germany to learn new methods of water and waste management — a step in the right direction.

Amanda Little, author of a study on food, reminds us that we “generate more planet-warming emissions from eating than we do from driving or flying.” This is an area we can all make immediate efforts in, while also encouraging more sustainable agriculture and food production methods.

The potential benefits of reducing waste are as extensive as the waste we produce today. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation posits that the move toward a circular economy alone has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by almost 40 percent by 2050, while also generating great economic benefits through greater efficiency and lower material costs.

By tackling food loss and waste, the UN Development Programme believes we will also see the significant accompanying benefit of lifting almost 1 billion people out of hunger. Improved waste management practices could help us save up to 40 percent of global energy demand in 2050, says the International Resource Panel. Just imagine if humanity were fully aware of the tremendous benefits that can be attained simply by cutting waste. I believe there would be no confusion left over emissions, what they represent, and what we can individually do to preserve resources and the health of our planet.

To be sure, giving people the opportunity to make such a significant difference to the future of our planet will not be enough if we do not also tackle the wasteful practices and reasoning of the business world. We can expect a number of corporations to fight this tooth and nail, as it will undercut the practices they rely upon for their outsized profits. But the more they fight, the more we will realize that we are doing the right thing, as businesses are largely structured to serve only their own selfish interests.

When we are faced with frightening ailments such as cancer, we do not just give aspirin to the patient and hope he feels better. Faced with the extent of the looming environmental and climate catastrophe, we would do well to adopt powerful and effective methods such as cutting waste globally through popular initiative, adopting long-term plans and promoting effective environmental education to prepare our children for a task only they are now capable of tackling. Just as we educate our children to manage their own bodily waste as they grow up, we must teach them to effectively manage all kinds of waste we produce in the context of our consumption. Let us hold back on the conferences and conventions for a little while and instead offer people clearer and more immediately actionable information on how to cut waste. I believe this could represent the biggest step forward yet in saving our planet.

• Hassan bin Youssef Yassin worked with Saudi petroleum ministers Abdullah Tariki and Ahmed Zaki Yamani from 1959 to 1967. He led the Saudi Information Office in Washington from 1972 to 1981 and served with the Arab League observer delegation to the UN from 1981 to 1983.

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