FAQ: Why does Climate Club focus on collective & systemic actions?
Why we write about submissions more than recycling
In our weekly climate action newsletter, we don’t tend to share individual actions like recycling more, cycling more, or consuming less. While individual behaviour definitely has to change as we tackle the climate crisis, we are trying to shine a spotlight on collective and systemic actions (examples in the table at the end of the article).
This is because climate change is the symptom of many deep-rooted systemic causes, which must be tackled at that level in order for solutions to be equitable and sustainable.
As for individual actions – who has ever felt guilty for not recycling soft plastics, or taking a car when you couldn’t be bothered taking the bus? We’ve all been there. But I’m here to say: the guilt has got to stop!
Doing good for the world should be the default – this is the goal for systemic change, which is made possible by collective action. So why is it so hard to do the right thing as an individual?
Focussing on individual actions is a distraction from something bigger
Though carbon footprints are an important concept, did you know who invented the concept? A fossil fuel company – BP.
So why would they want to do this? Focusing the public’s attention on individual carbon footprints puts the blame on consumers as equal contributors to the climate crisis, alongside large corporations and oil giants. But in a world where 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions, it’s clear that changing individual lifestyles (while still critical) will not solve the climate crisis alone.
What’s more, you can’t blame individuals for behaving rationally in a system that is rigged towards unsustainable lifestyle choices. There is “cruel optimism” in setting individuals up for failure by giving them individual-level solutions to a global, corporate-backed, interconnected problem. This often results in feelings of disillusionment and helplessness when these inadequate, individual-level solutions don’t work. This, in turn, saps people’s energy to push for real, deep change. Corporations like BP encourage individual action because it keeps us busy and distracted from the real change we need.
Systemic change happens at the top of the supply chain
Here’s an example of why individual action does not treat the root of the problem. Folks like you and me can recycle plastics. Unfortunately, this alone isn’t going to stop the creation of mountains of new plastics being created by fossil fuel giants. Why? Let’s take a look at the whole system:
99% of plastic is actually made by fossil fuel companies, which they sell to other companies, to wrap their products in plastic. Then, the supermarkets stock these products wrapped in plastic. Finally the consumer (yours truly!) is forced to buy these shrink-wrapped goods. Further down the supply chain, most of this plastic goes to waste. The rest, our councils and taxpayers have to cover the cost of collecting and recycling the plastic.
As individuals, we should try to reduce our consumption of plastics in the first place. But this is very difficult for everyone to do, together, because sometimes there are no affordable non-plastic options for certain necessities. If, instead of looking down the supply chain at what consumers can do, we look up at the supermarkets, producers, and fossil fuel companies, we start to see that in order to actually reduce plastic waste (and the use of fossil fuels to create them), this is where the change needs to happen.
We need to work with governments and businesses to create systemic change
You are part of a system, and your power lies in how you can influence that system – not just your own individual life. Here’s my favourite model for thinking about this: the Golden Triangle of how social change happens. This shows we need all three groups to mobilise in order to have social change: civil society (activists, communities, the general public), organisations (like groups, NGOs, businesses), and government (our elected representatives).
Image caption: The Golden Triangle of Economics / Social Change, original creator unknown.
Changes in individual behaviour within civil society alone won’t stop plastic pollution, even if we boycotted every plastic-wrapped product in the supermarket. To solve the problem, we need public pressure on the government to regulate, consumer pressure on businesses to make more ethical choices, and the media to inform the public of what’s going on and to hold governments and businesses accountable.
This is why many of Climate Club’s actions involve writing letters to MPs, submitting on government consultations about regulations, petitioning for law changes, and encouraging people to speak up when they see corporations (including media) behaving irresponsibly. Civil society banding together and calling on governments and businesses to do better is an effective way for individuals to be part of a much larger change, as we’ve seen in the historic campaigns like women’s suffrage and the fight for a 40-hour work week. The great thing about systemic change is that like a three-legged stool, each leg in the Golden Triangle of social change is tightly influenced by the others. One systemic change in one corner can have cascading effects on the others, with impact felt all the way through the supply chain.
For more on finding your sources of power & influence when it comes to climate, read this deep dive on climate superpowers.
Collective action can create systemic change
So what does it look like to collectively demand systemic changes? Let’s take a look at the campaign to ban lead in paint and gasoline. Despite the dangers of lead having been clear and recorded for decades, there was enough industry pushback and lobbying to prevent action. What finally created change was a dedicated movement of ordinary citizens who learnt the science and banded together to demand action from their governments.
Here are some examples of how you can amplify the impact of your individual actions, by thinking up the supply chain towards systemic change:
Individual action
Collective action
Systemic change
Actions which change an individual person’s consumption or carbon footprint. These can be visible or invisible (the visible ones may have impact effecting more change).
Actions involving many people pooling their time, energy and resources together to create change. Examples: unionising, protests, letter-writing.
Changes that work at the level of the root cause of the problem, not a solution which addresses a symptom, by looking at the system as a whole. Examples: bans, treaties, shifts to clean energy / public transport.
Individual action: Recycling (plastic)
Collective action: Email your favourite brands and ask them to reduce waste, suggesting solutions like:
Refilleries
collecting reusable containers
compostable materials
taking ownership of the plastic bottles they produce (collection schemes)
Ban on single-use plastics (well done Aotearoa!)
Right to repair (like this recent campaign by Repair Cafe for a repairability label on products!)
Taking the bus, biking, or walking to work
Organising a carpooling group at work
Organising a walking schoolbus
Getting your workplace involved in the Aotearoa Bike Challenge every February
Write to your local MP asking for:
Free / half-price fares forever
Better bike infrastructure
E-bike subsidies
Eating vegan/vegetarian
Asking a conference / event to switch to vegan by default
Submitting on consultations to price agricultural emissions
Writing to MPs about how we can farm sustainably
Taking a long-distance train instead of plane
Campaign for restoring passenger rail
France just banned short-haul flights!
Ban flights being cheaper than high-speed trains, buses
So this is why at Climate Club we try to serve you collective & systemic actions. Happy Systemic Change Summer! ☀️