Fighting climate change will require a community based approach

Climate Change is a global phenomenon that affects the world in diverse ways, based on the fluctuations in our area and our geography. Problems range the spectrum in extremes; include drought, flooding, crop destruction, dangerously high temperatures, larger and more powerful storms, refugees, regional conflicts, more vectors of disease, disruption of utilities, infrastructure damage, economic turmoil, etc.

Community responses to Climate Change

Communities around the world should take action and create solutions to face the challenges confronting us due to climate change. This includes solutions to both help us reduce our carbon imprint, as well as measures to become more resilient to the challenges of climate change.

These actions range from developing and implementing green building practices, to climate friendly agriculture, restoring the natural environment, sequestering carbon and greenhouse gases through soil restoration, protecting and regenerating local water cycles, installing renewable energy and appropriate technologies, and responding to emergencies and crises with resilient and regenerative planning and rebuilding practices.

In recent decades, extreme weather events have contributed to increasing loss of lives, human and natural infrastructure and other things of value. Climate change has already begun to exacerbate such losses through more frequent and intense floods, high winds, heat waves, droughts, wildfires and the like, locally and regionally. 

 How do local initiatives against climate change compare to international efforts?

More than twenty-five years ago, scientists and policy makers framed climate change as a global problem requiring global solutions. We created the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other international institutions to address the problem. Scientists believed that if they reached consensus on the global impacts of climate change, politicians would act to prevent dangerous concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

 But despite the progress that’s been made in climate science, a lack of political will among national governments has led to policy gridlock. International institutions have made very little difference in reducing net losses and vulnerability to climate change, on both global and national scales.

Meanwhile, with little publicity, many local communities have to focus independently on their own climate-related problems and significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. And also decrease their losses and vulnerability to extreme weather events and climate change. In doing so, they will have grown their economies and nurtured civic pride, among other community values. Not every community will succeed, of course. But successful communities serve as working models of how we can reduce or adapt to climate change, which other communities can build upon.

Best practices that others can follow

The short answer is that successful groups can take action against climate change even though they don’t completely understand everything that might be needs to reach their long-term goal. They proceed by trial and error, building on what works and setting aside what doesn’t, to make progress step by step. At each step, they move ahead pragmatically and creatively, using whatever resources they have to meet near-term needs.

To succeed, community groups must do certain things very well. This includes finding a political consensus on community policy and then funding, implementing and evaluating that policy. They must be willing to terminate policies that don’t work to free up resources for others. They have to be creative and flexible.

Practices that have been successfully field-tested in one community tend to be adapted by similar communities. But because each community is ultimately unique, there are no best practices for everyone, only better practices, depending on the local context.

Engaging Communities to reduce Community-wide Emissions

Engaging community-wide is part of carrying out the local action plan. Timing is important. If your community has created a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and forecast, set an emissions reductions target, and developed a local action plan you are ready to launch an engagement process.

Every community is unique. For this reason, engagement processes are not prescriptive. The following key elements will help you tailor your community engagement process.

1. Build Awareness: Begin by preparing information for your community to help them understand why the climate is changing. Include descriptions of the challenges and opportunities and the business case.

2. Explain to the community–invite community-driven descriptions of what reaching the successful target will look like e.g. cleaner air, less traffic outside schools, lower energy bills, enhanced local tourism etc.) Prioritize the themes as a community. This process will establish a common language and clarify shared motivations. It will also help local governments deliver actions requests based on community success targets.

During the initial awareness raising activities begin to identify key stakeholders who will engage with their own business or community groups to take further action. Strategic partnerships will help build capacity towards meeting the community-wide targets, for example, local business association, or local environmental organization.

Build on existing relationships and take advantage of any special skill sets existing in the community. Another way to building capacity is to invite summer students to participate and to mentor people in your community. Once the level of awareness and interest in the community is raised; take action.

3. Information alone is not enough – for awareness to have impact it needs to be matched with other ingredients such as individual meaning, need to develop social links and norms to others that are taking action, it’s important to be inspired to move beyond thought to action. 

4. Take Action: Start the action phase of your engagement strategy by describing what you are doing as an organization then provide actionable items for the community. These actions should be based on the unique items community success targets discussed during the awareness building phase.

Plan to reach your community outside of the local government office at venues where community groups gather. Although climate change is a serious issue, use a positive upbeat message. Solutions will have better results than fear mongering. It’s OK to have fun!  

There are many options when it comes to outreach methods such as travelling road-show at schools and community events, webinars, community meetings, presentations &, speakers, film nights, distributing a mayor’s message, rural advisory groups, public meetings, design charities, open houses, task force, web polls, software to vision land use and, citizen steering committees. Your job will be to choose the right channels for your community to help the community take climate action.

Way forward

When engagement is done well, local government staff and community members have a clear understanding of the challenges, and opportunities arising from climate change. Comprehensive engagement strategies will guide individuals and groups in implementing the role they play in combating climate change. #CommunityClimateAction #ClimateChange #Adaptation #ClimateAction #SDG13 #Sustainability #UrgentActions #Time4ClimateActionIsNow #WeCanSaveOurFutureTogether #DemandforClimateAction #AfricaClimateWeek2020