The Community-Driven Climate Solutions Making A Difference

Hollie Russon Gilman and Amy Eisenstein wrote for Next City on how hyper-local initiatives are creating change amidst the climate crisis.

In 2022, Brussels launched a permanent citizens’ assembly on climate. Each year, 100 randomly selected citizens will discuss and make recommendations on a particular part of Brussels’ climate policy. Ireland, which organized one of the first climate assemblies back in 2017, hosted a citizens’ assembly this year that produced 150 recommendations on biodiversity loss. And most famously, Paris hosted a citizens’ assembly on climate from 2019-2022 to make recommendations on achieving “a minimum reduction of 40% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, in a spirit of social justice”.

Though these climate assemblies are blossoming in European cities, they are beginning to make their way toward America, too. Washington state hosted a climate assembly in 2021; the assembly members’ recommendations helped inform the state legislature’s climate agenda that year. It was the first assembly of its kind here in the United States. Other domestic organizations are calling for similar citizens’ assemblies because climate “won’t wait for ‘politics as usual.’”

When communities feel like they have a voice at the table, they will be more likely to engage and sustain their participation. Local climate solutions allow people to leverage their hyperlocal expertise in communities and have co-ownership over solutions. And hyperlocal investments are working to modify people’s behavior and engagement on climate issues.

For example, a new Los Angeles initiative funded by the Transformative Climate Communities demonstrates that participatory mechanisms to empower individuals with cleaner options pay dividends. In one project, 300 residents received energy efficiency upgrades including smart thermostats and LED lighting, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy bills. The community also planted 2,250 trees, and volunteers delivered 261 thousand pounds of fresh food to nearly ten thousand residents, eliminating food waste that would have otherwise ended up in landfills.