Meet ClimateSustainability.Org, Congress’s Conservative Climate Caucus, Global Optimism, Climate Change Champion Felipe Calderon

CLIMATE-SUSTAINABILITY.ORG

As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it. — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

That’s the operating principle behind Climate-Sustainability.org.  Its team facilitates the development of new partnerships and coalitions. We aim at building bridges between people and organizations to accelerate climate action and transform our societies towards a sustainable future. 

Some of the initiatives ClimateSustainability is working on include real food systems, education programs and green recovery for Europe. After all, North America isn’t the only region recovering from the Coronavirus pandemic, and also fighting climate change. 

Part of the real food systems initiatives includes the Youth Ambassadors Program. It’s designed to inspire action, providing young people across the world who are passionate about food and climate with tools and voice to help design a sustainable, healthy future.

The education programs include both OCE – The Office for Climate Education and its partners produce education resources and provide professional development and support to teachers around the world, particularly in developing countries.

Our Climate Our Future – Animated videos prepared by ACE (Alliance for Climate Empowerment).

Really interesting stuff. 

DEEPER DIVE: OCE, Youth Ambassadors, Climate Sustainability

CONSERVATIVE CLIMATE CAUCUS 

A group of House Republicans launched a new Conservative Climate Caucus  last week, aimed at educating fellow GOP lawmakers about climate change and finding solutions to lower emissions while preserving jobs. Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah., is leading 52 Republicans in the effort, nearly a fourth of all congressional Republicans.

Environmental policy has become a partisan subject in Washington over the past two decades. In 2019, the Senate launched a bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus led by Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Chris Coons, D-Del. to break that up.

Here’s why this matters to us. In the words of Michigan Rep. Peter Myer, “Climate change should not be a partisan issue. The environment surrounds all of us, and we have a vested interest in protecting, maintaining, and growing it for future generations.”

Here’s some of what members of the Conservative Climate Caucus believe:

• The climate is changing, and decades of a global industrial era that has brought prosperity to the world have also contributed to that change.

• Climate change is a global issue and China is the greatest immediate obstacle to reducing world emissions. Solutions should reduce global emissions and not just be “feel good” policies

• Americans and the rest of the world want access to cheaper, reliable, and cleaner energy

• With innovative technologies, fossil fuels can and should be a major part of the global solution

“Those who watch this caucus will see Republicans do care about this earth, deeply,” said Curtis, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee who has long argued that conservatives need to embrace environmental issues. “We too want to leave this earth better than we found it.”

For now, the House caucus will focus on educating Republicans with the hope that one day they can work across the aisle to craft meaningful policy.

DEEPER DIVE:  NBCNews, Curtis.House.gov, KUTV

GLOBAL OPTIMISM

I don’t know if you’d call me a hardcore, climate change optimist. I started this podcast because I’m intent on finding people who are. So I was nice to discover there’s a group so stubbornly optimistic, one continent can’t hold them down.

(Whatchu talkin’ ‘bout, Willis?)

I’m talkin’ ‘bout Global Optimism. Global Optimism was founded by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac. Figueres was UN Executive Secretary for Climate Change between 2010-2016. Rivett-Carnac was her senior political strategist. The duo helped secured not just the historic Paris Agreement but also its unanimous signing by 195 nations. With that drop-the-mic performance, the two realized the UN’s gonna need some help.

After all, the pair know better than anybody that the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 is the goal adopted by 195 countries through the Paris Agreement. Achieving a zero emissions future is not some far-off challenge. It’s right here, and right now. Science demands that we cut global greenhouse gas emissions between 2020 and 2030.

The work of Global Optimism is founded on the principals of Stubborn Optimism–, a mindset based on grit and determination in the face of difficult systemic changes. Global Optimism is really more of a platform. There’s a podcast, Outrage + Optimism, one book, The Future We Choose, and a series of live events, which we hope they’ll restart, post-pandemic.

Why does Global Optimism matter to us? 

Because climate change is here. It’s now the responsibility of all of us to act with the courage, urgency and solidarity to build the transformative solutions to thrive now and in the future. Because they’re here, investing in the steps required for all of us to be on this challenging – and life-affirming – journey.

DEEPER DIVE: Global Optimism, YouTube

CLIMATE CHANGEMAKER, FELIPE CALDERON

During his tenure as president of Mexico from 2006 to 2012, Felipe Calderón made clear his belief that countries of all prosperity levels could come together to solve the climate crisis. In 2010, he presided over the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancun, which established the Green Climate Fund, and in 2012 he passed the General Law on Climate Change, which set carbon reduction and renewable energy goals. The progressive move made Mexico the second nation ever to issue binding emissions-reduction targets, and the first in the developing world.

Now Calderón is leading an international effort to upend a pet theory of climate deniers: that fixing the climate is bad for business. He chairs the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, whose flagship project, the New Climate Economy, researches how countries can achieve sustainable economic growth while mitigating climate change. With the support of seven governments, the project has now published two aptly timed reports that give decision-makers a nudge ahead of the Paris climate conference. Calderón calls the choice between climate action and economic prosperity a “false dilemma,” and thanks to him, other leaders are beginning to see that truth.

DEEPER DIVE: New Climate Economy, NRDC