Mōrena, and happy Tuesday!
Yesterday, I gave a guest seminar at a university on climate action & civic engagement:
As the discussion wove through the audience’s diverse questions and perspectives, there was definitely a small thread of hopelessness or apathy towards the possibility of change, i.e. “doomerism”. It can be scary to see increasing cyclones, floods, and fires on the news every week, and to read about what fossil fuel lobbyists and the politicians they convince are choosing to do.
Whenever I personally have feelings of doomerism, I find it helpful to remember these things (from Christiana Figueres’ book, The Future We Choose):
“It’s too late” → It’s never too late. Every fraction of a degree we prevent will make a huge difference.
“It’s too depressing” → Connecting with the many others who feel the same way and taking action can alleviate climate anxiety (like our Auckland Climate Festival event on turning climate anxiety into climate action!)
“We can’t fix a broken political system” → We have transformed society many times throughout history by working together, overcoming incredible odds.
“I’m too small to make a difference” → System change is made up of small actions - they all contribute.
Finally, I remember that doomerism is a form of climate delay. It’s what the lobbyists want you to believe, to paralyse us from acting so they can keep raking in billions in profits for a few more years. No thanks!
This week’s actions have several trainings and workshops on levelling up our climate communication to combat feelings of doomerism. You can also check out this short guide on talking about climate change effectively, which we refer to often. Whether it’s over a dinner table, online, or out in public, how we talk about climate change is key to changing hearts and minds – from doom to bloom 🌸
What can we do today?
The most-clicked link from last week’s issue was to register for the Constructive Climate Conversations course!
Also, our “Climate Job Board” has been updated - new roles for a web dev volunteer and people wanting to help out at the Auckland Climate Festival!
🐝 If you have 5 minutes: Sweet child no’mine
The Labour Government promised in 2017 that there would be no new mines on conservation land, but more mineral permits have been granted. The Green Party are calling on the Minister for Conservation, Willow-Jean Prime, to honour the Government’s promise and protect Papatūānuku by backing Eugenie Sage’s No New Mines Members’ Bill to stop new mines on conservation land.
Action: Call on Labour to honour their promise of no new mines!
🐇 If you have 15 minutes: A survey a day helps the doctoral candidate a way
The lovely Doctoral candidate (PhD) in Sociology Jonathan Oosterman is researching what supports effective and just climate action in Aotearoa. If you’re reading this newsletter, he’d love to hear from you.
Action: If you live in NZ and are at least 16 years old, take The Big New Zealand Climate Action Survey!
💃🏽 If you have 30 minutes or more: Writing letters ain’t too taxing
Thanks to a wonderful reader for creating this action! In addition to asking climate questions at candidate meetings, another way to get politicians thinking about better climate policy is by writing them an email or a letter. Feel free to use the examples in their guide below as inspiration for your own.
Action: Write to your local candidate about why you want them to have bolder climate policies.Tāmaki/Auckland, this Saturday: The 311 wealthiest families in Aotearoa own almost as much wealth as the bottom half of the population - it is time for the richest people in this country to pay their fair share (read our deep dive on what taxes have to do with climate change).
Action: Join the rally at 2pm this Saturday 19 August at Britomart, led by unions, community activists, the Green Party, and System Change AotearoaA lot more than 30 minutes, but an epic opportunity: The Workshop is offering a free 2-year programme for 15 advocates, artists, and storytellers on changing narratives to bring about an Aotearoa where all whānau can flourish. If you enjoy storytelling for social change, this is the opportunity for you.
In case you missed it!
Online, August 16th or 23rd: We mentioned last week that 350 Aotearoa are running training on how to effectively ask about climate change at candidate meetings. They’ve added a second date in case you can’t make it this week!
Action: Learn how to talk to politicians about climate policy 5:30pm this Wednesday 16th or 7pm next Wednesday 23rdGreenpeace is offering a free 10-week course on climate communication, helping you facilitate caring, effective dialogue both online and offline with people who hold opposing views.
Action: Sign up to apply for the course350 Aotearoa’s short film documentary, ‘We can produce our own power: Community Energy Projects in Aotearoa’, is still screening this week & next in Ōtepoti/Dunedin, Ōtautahi/Christchurch, and Kirikiriroa/Hamilton!
Action: Join a documentary screening and meet your local climate community
Save the date
Ōtautahi/Christchurch, 18-24 Sep: Terra Nova Foundation is holding their second ever Te Ao Earth Week, a celebration and deep dive into the environmental action required for our future. Check out their online & in-person events!
Wins!
A few months back, 3000 people (including many of you) signed a Climate Club & Coal Action Network Aotearoa petition to stop polluters from earning more free credits under the ETS. This, combined with work by our ETS experts (including Emily!), resulted in the Select Committee recommending that the Govt close a major new loophole in the ETS. Provided the Government accepts this recommendation (supported by all parties except ACT) this is a significant win for the climate movement against big polluters - yay team! 🎉
That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action. Enjoy these two climate related films at this year’s NZ International Film Festival: How to Blow Up a Pipeline and The Giants.
See you next week,
Jenny & the Climate Club team
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Whoa, this just in - super relevant to our issue this week is Dense Discovery's issue! It also talks about climate doomerism, and has some epic recommendations on combatting it. It also features Emily!
https://www.densediscovery.com/issues/251
We also loved the idea of this self-organised 1 week group course!
https://www.theweek.ooo/?utm_source=DenseDiscovery-251
https://spencerrscott.substack.com/p/emergencies-frameshifts-and-feedback I really liked this on climate and personal narratives!