The Most Important Thing You Can Do to Fight Climate Change
Why participating in local government is more meaningful than cutting your carbon footprint.
Like most socially conscious eco-activists you have sworn off flying, rarely buy clothes or other new items, moved to a vegan diet, use soap nuts instead of cleansers, and drive as little as you can. However, as an individual there is only so much, you can do.
The Problem with Federal Government
You would think that lobbying the federal government would be the next step, but on June 30th, 2022 the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t have the broad authority to set national energy policy by encouraging industries to switch to renewable forms of energy. This ruling also suggests that the court might block other efforts by the Biden Administration to limit the use of fossil fuels.
The recent increase in oil prices adds political pressure to the administration to allow more drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, even though experts say that doing so won’t lower fuel prices, since they are determined globally.
These issues coupled with the slow plodding nature of the federal government caused by bipartisanship, and the influence of lobbyists, make voting in national elections feel pointless, at times.
So, what is the biggest thing you can do to fight climate change? Surprisingly the answer is simple. Participate in local government.
Why Local Government?
According to United Nations Development Program, local governments are responsible for more than 70% of climate change reduction measures and up to 90% of climate change adaptation measures. According to the United Nations Environmental Program 75% of CO2 emissions comes from cities, with transportation, buildings and food being the largest emitters.
More importantly, projects that are conceived and executed at the local level can be tailor-made to suit the specific circumstances of that community. For example, some cities may face threats from droughts, wildfires, poor air quality, and heat waves. While another might face challenges from sea level rise, floods, and increased disease.
Nobody Votes in Local Elections
According to research from Portland State University, voter turnout in 10 of America’s 30 largest cities was less than 15%. In Las Vegas, Ft. Worth, and Dallas, turnout was in the single digits.
Furthermore, the median age of voters in local elections was 57. Residents 65 and older were 15 times more likely to cast a ballot than residents who were between 18 and 34.
In some states, it tends to be the politically active, conservative, wealthy, older, white voters that vote in local elections. This means a small unrepresentative group decides how local governments spend the almost $2 trillion that they have available to them.
Why People Don’t Vote in Local Elections
According to Zoltan Hajinal a professor of political science, the reason most people don’t vote in local elections is that they are held on a different date (often a different year) than national elections. With an average of only a 60% turn out it’s hard enough to get people to vote for President and Congress. But getting people to vote for city and county officials is nearly impossible.
The simple solution, according to Hajinal, is just to move the voting dates to coincide with state or national elections.
Global Communities Fighting for Change
According to a report from the Center for American Progress, some of the ways mayors and city councils can lead the fight against climate change are by providing better public transportation, changing zoning laws to create denser housing, changing codes to electrify buildings, starting composting programs and planting trees and flowers to cool their cities and improve biodiversity.
Europe and other parts of the world have seen some success with programs like the Covenant of Mayors, in which more than 11,000 local and regional politicians from 55 countries who represent 340 million people have agreed to –
1. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a pace following the science to stay below 1.5C warming
2. Increase resilience and prepare for the adverse impacts of climate change.
3. Tackle energy poverty as one key action to ensure a just transition.
The Covenant of Mayors is by far the largest movement of local governments and their commitments go beyond the national climate and energy objectives of their respective countries. The group started in 2008 and as of 2022 according to their reports, many of the cities participating have seen a reduction in emissions of 20% and some as much as 40%.
The C40 is another network of mayors from nearly 100 cities around the world who are collaborating to confront the climate crisis. Rather than fees, membership is performance-based and there is a minimum requirement of leadership standards for cities to join.
The mission of the C40 is to increase equity and inclusivity in their cities, invest in transportation infrastructure, invest in renewable energy and green jobs, ensure access to healthy sustainably grown food, and turn public spaces into bio-diverse parks.
What You Can Do
So, if you want to be part of the climate change solution rather than being part of the problem, the answer is to vote in your local elections for a candidate that will create change. Since such a small percentage of people participate in these your vote will have a bigger impact.
Yes, your carbon footprint still matters, but what you can accomplish as an individual pales in comparison to what your community can do.
If you want to make a bigger difference you can run for office or volunteer on a campaign for city council, school board, or mayor. All of these positions can help allocate money toward renewable energy, more parks for better biodiversity, and better public transportation.
You can also write a column for your local newspaper on sustainability to help put political pressure on officials to do the right thing.
At the very least you should attend city council meetings to get your voice heard and tell your elected officials how climate change is affecting you and what should be done about it.
