Dan Leckie Forum 2009
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Community Climate Action Heroes: Lessons from Real World Experience
The 2009 Dan Leckie Forum (PDF) on September 22, 2009, focused on how to make community climate actions — and actors — more powerful. We explored the theme of Community Climate Action Heroes: Lessons from Real World Experience both in a video that captured insights from a number of experienced climate activists and in the forum itself. At the forum, our panel of "Action Heroes" tackled issues like the potential of community-based projects to drive societal change and the major barriers to success at the community level. Break out groups then pursued these questions further.
For TAF, extending the learning and sharing insights from 15-plus years of supporting community based climate action was a key outcome of the forum. We would like to thank all the participants for their thoughtful observations, candour and hard work.
In particular, TAF would like to thank the Leckie Family for their ongoing support and their enthusiastic participation in this event, as well as the Toronto Environment Office for sponsoring the networking reception at the end of the day. More information about the Live Green Toronto Community Animators program.
Lessons from the real world
Over the winter and spring of 2009, we interviewed 11 experienced climate activists involved in a wide range of community-based projects. We've tried to capture their insights into what works, what doesn't, what the major challenges of community climate action are and suggestions for how to overcome these in a 30-minute video and report.
The 2009 Forum
Panelists:
- Ashley Taylor - Sustainability Office, University of Toronto
- Brian Shifman - Smart Commute, North Toronto-Vaughn
- Bruce Rosensweet - Artscape
- Ferdous Noman - University Health Network
- Judith Lipp - Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative
- Lorraine Gauthier - Now House Community Retrofit Program
- Rod Layman - Parkdale United Church Foundation, Green Phoenix
- Robert Plitt - Evergreen
- Ted Reeve - Faith & the Common Good
- You-Zhi Tang - Canada-China Environmental Cooperation Council
Forum statement:
What is community climate action?
Community climate actions (CCAs) aim to change behaviours, build understanding and promote engagement amongst local stakeholders to address climate change concerns at the local level. CCAs are created, supported and sustained by local affiliate groups such as neighbours, businesses, co-workers, faith groups, and community organizations. They require personal engagement and interactions through the establishment of networks of leaders, supporters, volunteers and participants.
Achieving measurable emission reductions must be at the heart of community climate action plans
Community climate actions can help governments, utilities, corporations and non-profit organizations to engage and enroll citizens in existing and emerging programs aimed at reducing emissions, and to provide feedback from citizens to program proponents. CCAs help tap into and expand existing community resources by activating the potential of local volunteers and networks to support and accelerate action on climate change. It is important that community climate actions be examined through the lens of city, provincial and federal policies in order to ensure a supportive context for individual behaviour change and the removal of barriers that may emerge at the local level as part of the community climate action work.
Community climate actions build constituencies for change
Recognizing that changing individual behaviours is important to addressing climate change, but unlikely to be enough to achieve the City's emissions reduction targets, community climate actions must play a broader role than simply stimulating behaviour change at the level of the individual. They have the potential to help people build a common understanding of issues, act on their values and come together as an effective constituency to call for the policy changes required to achieve emission reduction targets. By engaging the target audience in activities that are simple, appealing and driven from within the community, community climate action practitioners can build trust and support for taking action to the next step. The result can be the creation of a constituency to advocate for change and a more resilient community ready to respond in the face of climate change impacts.
Community networks allow sharing of best practices and effective partnerships
Local networks help community climate practitioners to work together, learn together and educate one another on best practices. There is a great deal of embedded wisdom in the groups and leadership that has been active for many years that must be transferred to those starting anew.
Effective, sustainable community climate action requires engaged and coordinated funders
With limited resources available, community climate action practitioners are competing with each other for grants. A mechanism to share findings and enhance collaboration could maximize access to and effectiveness of available resources. As well, community climate actions are long-term endeavours, often surpassing the timeframes allotted through funding agencies and sponsors, and require sustained support to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of these programs. Finally, funders tend to support only new and innovative approaches, rather than supporting replication of proven techniques that build capacity and engagement and deliver emission reduction results.
Moving forward, practitioners of community climate action and the funder community need to consider the following questions to help determine the most effective way to identify, develop, fund, implement and evaluate community climate action projects:
- How do we ensure that community climate actions focus on behaviour change that will bring about the most effective emission reduction results?
- Should community climate action be integrated with policy advocacy and, if so, how should this be achieved?
- What is the best way to convene and support networking among new and experienced community climate "actioneers"?
- What is the best way to enhance the funding available for ongoing community climate action work? How can funders in this sphere better support their community of practitioners?
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