Unlike COVID-19, there is no vaccine for curing the climate crisis. At best, we have to become carbon neutral by mid-century to have any chance of managing this existential threat. In this video, a panel of leading solution advocates outline their unique answers to the question: Where Do We Go From Here?
On November 19, 2020, the federal government tabled legislation committing Canada to become carbon neutral by 2050. This final webinar outlines some solutions which we will continue to explore in Season 3, starting January 13th, 2021.
Featured presenters include:
Bob Sandford, Global Water Futures Chair in Water and Climate Security at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health; Washington DC lawyer and leading political analyst, Mace Rosenstein; Jon O’Riordan, former Deputy Minister of the Environment; Dr. Tim O’Riordan, President of the Norfolk Association of Local Councils connecting all 722 Parish Councils in Norfolk, UK; John Pennell, Chairman: Well Being Initiative, Norfolk Association of Local Councils; as well as three youth activists, a British Columbian, an Albertan and an American: Katia Bannister, Mackenzie Cumming and Natalie Bookout.
Webinar host, Frances Litman, also shares a collection of her professional images acknowledging Indigenous wisdom and stewardship, and Evan Hesketh wraps things up with a viola performance.
“I believe local communities must play a role — perhaps a foundational one — in both shaping and implementing national policy. And one hopes that the public interest will triumph over private self-interest — or that some smart politician will find a way to persuade citizens that, with respect to climate, their self-interest and the public interest are identical.”
– Mace Rosenstein, presenter
Presenter Links
Cowichan Valley Earth Guardians
Vote16BC
Sunrise Movement
Extinction Rebellion Youth
Well Being Initiative
Giki Earth
Good Energy
Earth Overshoot Day
The Climate Vaccine
Additional Q&A
Q. Do you have any views on how 70,000,000 pro Trump supporters could be persuaded to support climate initiatives?
A. Mace Rosenstein: I think there is a path forward, but it goes without saying that in the current climate (as it were) it will be a long and arduous one. Think about how long it takes to turn around a supertanker (perhaps another appropriate analogy).
First, at the macro level, president-elect Biden already has begun to reach out to Trump voters with a combination of hard, cold facts and healing, inclusive rhetoric. I invite you to read his U.S. Thanksgiving address: https://buildbackbetter.Gov/speeches/thanksgiving-address-as-prepared-for-delivery-by-president-elect-joe-biden-in-wilmington-delaware/. (Imagine Donald Trump delivering this speech.) He also has indicated he is trying to recruit a former Trump aide or advisor for a position in his administration. We don’t know who or what that will be (or if it’s even possible), but the intent seems clear.
But I think the real conversation — and the possibility for conversion — has to occur at the grass roots. John and Tim’s Parish Councils work is an inspirational model in this regard. The conversation has to move from the abstract to the specific. The reality is that it’s difficult if not impossible to motivate people to take action on the basis of, say, projected sea-level rise half a continent away. So the risk of harm must be made concrete and personal: “this is what will happen to you and your neighborhood/community if we don’t act. This is what your life will look like in ten years if we don’t change how we live.”
The Parish Councils example demonstrates this work must invoke and appeal to a sense of community, and perhaps even a sort of community pride. Once people can be persuaded that they are at risk personally, then they can be made to see that they are part of a larger community at risk — that together we are confronted by a common threat and therefore must work together to overcome it. The brilliant data-driven work John and Tim described seems crucial to this effort. But of course they are way ahead of any conversation occurring in U.S. communities at this time.
A. Mackenzie Cumming: To be honest I don’t really know. But what I do know is that we need to meet people wherever they’re at in the climate movement. We need to do our part to help them educate themselves and respect their journey of learning about climate change and its solutions. There’s definitely lots of economical benefits of transitioning to renewable energy, which, as you know, will be a huge part in lowering our greenhouse gas emissions and saving ourselves from climate catastrophe.
This transformation can be a great starting point for convincing people whose biggest priority is the economy about the benefits of climate action. However, we don’t necessarily need to have everyone on board for what some are calling “the climate revolution”. It only takes a few to pass policy that can rewrite our entire future. It’s those few that I personally am going to focus on persuading.
A. John Pennell: Yes – at least for those in areas that suffer from drought, fire and of course the great dustbowls — have to focus on effects of the change that apply to their locality. “The Dust Bowl” was the name given to the drought-stricken Southern Plains region of the United States, which suffered severe dust storms during a dry period in the 1930s. As high winds and choking dust swept the region from Texas to Nebraska, people and livestock were killed and crops failed across the entire region.
A. Tim O’Riordan: I think the scope for job creation especially absorbing high carbon job losses will be a factor, as will the investment scope for low carbon technologies especially software and the creative use of artificial intelligence.
Q. How widespread are initiatives like Norwich Parish Council amongst the UK Parish Councils and what action is being taken to spread the initiative?
A. John Pennell: Ours was the first total comprehensive Well-Being Initiative incorporating climate action as well. Other counties are looking to follow our example and we talk to them regularly and frequently and they can use our work free of charge. We work with the National Association of Parishes to try and bring all counties up to our speed.
Q. Do we have any confidence/optimism for an effective campaign to trip the Georgia U.S. Senate seats?
A. Mace Rosenstein: At this point it’s probably unrealistic to think that both seats will flip. Admittedly, we still have seven weeks to go, which seems an eternity in the current climate. And I assume either Biden or Harris, or both, will be spending time in Georgia over the next few weeks, while the republicans will want to keep Trump as far away as possible.
I suppose Loeffler could implode or Perdue’s insider stock trading problems and ethical lapses — which his democratic opponent, Jon Ossoff, pounded on during the general election campaign — could resonate with voters. But I wouldn’t count on either.
Instead I’m paying attention to two key factors:
1. Raphael Warnock. Warnock, who is running against Loeffler, is positioning himself as the candidate of faith — but from the left, rather than the right. His credentials are powerful in the black community; he is the pastor of Ebenezer baptist church in Atlanta, the pulpit once occupied by Martin Luther King, Jr. Indeed, his politics are reminiscent of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, which incorporated King’s moral view of society and human progress.
What remains to be seen is whether Warnock’s belief that gospel can inform politics will attract white evangelicals; one can argue that logically it should, but I don’t think we can assume that logic will govern here. But it is interesting to note that the Republican Party is focusing most of its fire on Warnock heading into the runoff, which suggests they are concerned about his appeal to religious white voters.
2. Turnout. Georgia authorities report that an all-time record number of absentee and mail-in ballots already have been requested — although we don’t yet know the demographics of those requests or how they match up with total turnout in the November 3rd general election.
Democrats need to get out their voters and address the risk of election fatigue: some voters were motivated to turn out by the presidential race and, having got a good result there, may not bother to return to the polls for the runoff. Of course black voters will be key to this effort, but Democrats need to address a perception in the black community (and other communities of colour) that they take the black vote for granted (it’s been observed that the Democrats have to stop acting like they “own” the black vote). So continued outreach and recruitment will be necessary.
And the black vote alone won’t be enough. Democrats need to find a way to win with white Republicans and Independents who voted for Biden as a repudiation of Trump but voted for Republicans in the down-ballot contests (including the senate races). White suburban women could be key to this effort: they were repulsed by Trump but didn’t really change their political stripes.
Interestingly, Trump’s and the Republicans’ success in persuading their base that the general election was “rigged” and the electoral process is corrupt could depress turnout on the Republican side. In this regard note the continuing intramural squabble in which Perdue and Loeffler have been attacking Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensberger, for certifying the general election results. Trump loyalists may figure there’s no point in showing up since even their own candidates are telling them their votes won’t be counted anyway. This is a sort of counterpoint to the Democrats’ “mission accomplished” problem I noted above. It could be a factor.
Q. Are there direct actions that youth are willing to participate in? Old growth logging blockades, pipeline blockades?
A. Mackenzie Cumming: Absolutely! Lots of youth across co-called “Canada” and around the world participate in direct action! I’m sure there has been youth involved in old growth and pipeline blockades. Last winter, youth all across so-called “Canada” organized sit-ins and other actions in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en, who are continuously fighting against Trans Canada Energy and the Coastal Gas Link. In the past few weeks, youth have had a large part in occupying busy intersections in Tkaronto, colonially known as Toronto, in solidarity with Indigenous land Defenders across Turtle Island, as part of Shut Down Canada.
A. Tim O’Riordan: In the UK this will be more around pushing the COP 26 agenda especially on renewables, transport and changing lifestyles. The issue to look out for is what will happen to carbon based use in the years after the vaccine kicks in. I think the youth will react negatively if driving and flying increase.
Q. In the UK is Doughnut economics, degrowth, public money (modern monetary theory) and transition town moving into the mainstream discourse?
A. John Pennell: I firmly believe that young people are far more aware of the problem than my generation and will not lead a more profligate life style post COVID than other generations. Witness the relative ineffectiveness of Extinction Rebellion : Youth and young people must learn to work within the system to get their points (and more importantly actions) noticed and respected by the selfish older generations.
A. Tim O’Riordan: Yes and No: Doughnut economics is beginning to get a hearing but mostly in the think tanks. Ditto degrowth. The economic calamity in the UK will bring on many actions over new forms of income sharing, four day weeks ,and universal basic services provision. See the work done by the New Economics Foundation.
A. John Pennell: No, thank goodness: as Tim says pretty pictures, graphs etc tend to stay in think tanks : real action is needed as we suggest.
Q. I am very inspired by the message of local responsibility. That lends itself to the more immediate, individual and household responsibility. I would love to see a tool that we can use as a household to measure, monitor and get to carbon neutrality in 5 years or sooner. Is there such a tool that we could start using now and to promote?
A. John Pennell: I have been talking to GIKI on just this topic today and they say they have many users world wide already who are very happy with it. They are also looking to produce a USA version first quarter 2021. Giki will work anywhere but the underlying data will not be quite so accurate in non-UK countries.
Q. How do we get banks in Canada committed to funding green and stop investing in fossil fuels?
A. Jon O’Riordan: There are two ways the banks will stop investing in fossil fuels. One is for the Canadian federal government to stop subsidizing fossil fuels. Such a policy will take the wind out of investment values
The other is for bank shareholders to demand accountability for the bank’s investment portfolios to tackle climate change. Mark Carney, the former head of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England is heading up a UN task force to require accountability for dealing with climate change for all financial institutions. In addition, there is a growing awareness that investing in fossil fuels is a dead end given the increased use of renewable energy and lower prices. Inverters follow the money and are increasingly turning to renewables.
Q. Achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is a necessary ’saviour’ for mankind. Dealing with it at local levels around the world brings it home for everyone and thus makes it more likely to be achieved. What is being done, anywhere in the world, to ensure that renewed lives and well-being will not re-create the disastrous state of affairs we now know? GM going to zero emission electric cars by 2030 is great. What will be the source of energy for them? Will that be renewable, abundant and available in many places?
A. John Pennell: The source of energy has to be renewables but largely (apart from geothermal and hydro-power) they are intermittent and need to have massive battery backup to supply continuously. Look at:
- the new vanadium batteries for a possible, good partial solution,
- using surplus renewable electricity to pump water up to take power out when you let it come down again
- electrolysis of water to get hydrogen using surplus renewable energy: this can be used to power cars directly or the energy re-extracted by producing water (test plant for this being constructed in Norfolk shortly)
Q. Wonderful organization. Do you/we have any contact with The Blue Dot movement?
A. John Pennell: No.
Q. Is there a good site for how households in Canada can reduce their carbon footprint?
A. John Pennell: Not specifically for Canadians, but see GIKI and my response above.
Q. I have a concern that a portion of youth are not taking individual, personal actions to reduce their impact. I acknowledge that voting and input into large scale policy discussions are needed and valuable but, as an older person, I get discouraged with local examples in the Cowichan Valley of littering, garbage dumping and other items that could be relatively easily avoided by youth. How much effort is being put into getting youth to do the right thing individually (as suggested by the presentation from Norfolk)?
A. Katia Bannister: I am a youth who works, volunteers and organizes in the Cowichan Valley. One of my biggest volunteer and organizing commitments is with the Cowichan Valley Earth Guardians crew. We are a group of socially and environmentally passionate youth between the ages of 12 and 20 who work on such issues in our community. We organize events, do activities like bioremediation and ecological restoration work, sharps and litter pick up, and much much more.
You are right in that there are a portion of youth who don’t take enough responsibility for their individual actions. But the same can be said about nearly every other group of people. There are people in the Cowichan Valley, regardless of age, who litter and do not take care of the place they live in.
There is a lot of effort being invested in showing not only youth, but everyone, the importance of individual actions. That being said, we also cannot place complete responsibility for the current climate crisis on the backs of individuals. We have to be thinking about those large scale policy discussions. We have to be thinking about how corporations need to be held accountable for their environmentally degrading practices. We all need to hold ourselves accountable individually – and no one’s age impairs them from doing so – but we also need to think about the larger scale. Effective change is locally grown and globally sown – and it is something we all have a part to play in.
People can reach me via email, via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook as @katiabannister, or through my blog (https://sowseedsofchange.
A. Mackenzie Cumming: While individual reduction of our carbon footprints is great, even if every person on earth drastically reduced their own carbon footprint, without reduction of corporations’ greenhouse gas emissions, we would still be spiraling towards climate catastrophe. With that in mind, there are lots of initiatives to teach children and youth about ways they can change small bits of their lifestyles in order to have a lower impact on our planet, which is great! However, we also need to remember that many practices that are considered “sustainable” aren’t accessible to all, especially youth who don’t have control over much that goes on in their households.
I am of the opinion that if we are going to push one group of people to become more eco friendly, it should be our prime ministers, presidents, and CEOs. After all, on a planet with 7.6 billion people, it’s 100 corporations who are responsible for 70% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Those who are making the decision to continue to emit that much carbon into the atmosphere while seeing the consequences it has on our most vulnerable populations should be held accountable.
As for the littering in Cowichan Valley, it’s inexcusable. I don’t understand why youth and people of all ages litter when there are so many trash bins so readily available. I’m not sure of the best way to stop people from littering, but if anyone knows, please let me know!
A. John Pennell: The youth of today is a whole lot better than we were. It is we who have set the bad examples and stolen their future. I am enormously encouraged by the younger people of today and if you look for the good, you will find it and then please help it to prosper. If you look for the bad – yes, you will find that too – but thank goodness it seems to be decreasing.