Event Title: How to Create Climate Action in Increasing Authoritarianism

This administration’s roll-back of climate solutions is disastrous, especially as the U.S. is the world’s largest historical emitter of greenhouse gasses.  The rising authoritarianism of our government further stifles climate action.  We can and must face and push back against rising authoritarianism to effectively address the existential threat from the climate emergency.

Climate action in the U.S. is critical to avoiding dangerous temperature rise, potentially existential in nature. Progress toward reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions has been reversed by this administration and fossil fuel corporations given a green light.

That would be bad enough.  But the rising authoritarianism of this administration makes climate action extremely difficult. The rapid backsliding from democratic institutions and suppression of dissent leaves corporate greed to act unchecked. This is disastrous for the climate crisis, where renewed support for the fossil fuel industry is accompanied by withdrawal from international cooperation, rollback of laws that promoted climate action, and legal actions against those who would defy the administration’s program and pursue climate action independently. 

Working for meaningful climate action in this atmosphere must include pushing back against authoritarianism.  We need to come together with others to fight back, including by using listening tools to tackle emotional blocks to building relationships and forming alliances that have eluded us in the past. 

Many social movements are coming together to push back against authoritarianism.  The climate movement is part of that push back and we ask every person here to join with us to push back as we work together for a livable world.

How can we work for meaningful climate action in this atmosphere. 

1.Address the rise of authoritarianism in our climate work

2. Use the power of listening to look at emotions—discouragement, fear, anger—to recover from feelings that would have us give up

2. Come together with others who fight back—use listening to tackle emotional blocks to building relationships and forming alliances

3. Use thinking turns in small groups to free up our thinking to arrive at new, workable ideas we can implement.