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The Climate Mobilization

Game, Changed. 2018 Year in Review

This year has been truly transformational. We are thrilled and inspired by the momentum of TCM and the Climate Emergency Movement. We have entered into a new phase of the effort to save humanity and the natural world. Join us in celebrating this progress and doubling down on our collective commitment to leveraging this momentum into transformative change in 2019.

Allies—

As 2018 comes to a close, please take five minutes to read about all that you have helped to accomplish in the Climate Mobilization Year in Review, below.

This year has been truly transformational. We are thrilled and inspired by the momentum of TCM and the Climate Emergency Movement. We have entered into a new phase of the effort to save humanity and the natural world. Join us in celebrating this progress and doubling down on our collective commitment to leveraging this momentum into transformative change in 2019.

Thank you and Onward!

Margaret Klein Salamon and the entire Climate Mobilization Team

UPDATE 12/14/18

Since publishing our 2018 year in review (below), the momentum has continued to build. On December 11, London Mayor Sadiq Kahn joined with the City Assembly in declaring Climate Emergency, accelerating the city’s efforts to transform its economy to carbon-neutrality by 2030. Kahn’s declaration comes on the heels of a motion by the London City Assembly, calling for a plan from the mayor. The Assembly’s statement specifically cited the work of The Climate Mobilization organizers in the U.S. cities of Hoboken, New Jersey and Berkeley, California.

London is now the largest city in the world to declare a Climate Emergency and to push for special powers to enact a Climate Mobilization, representing a huge boost to the Climate Emergency Movement worldwide. Read about this breakthrough in coverage from the Guardian UK.

Game, Changed: 2018 in Review

Historians will say that 2018 is when the Climate Emergency Movement began in earnest. 2019 will be the year that the movement breaks through and Climate Mobilization becomes the mainstream position.

Our efforts to “move the movement” have proven enormously successful. We began 2018 as virtually the only organization in the United States advocating a 10-year transition to zero emissions plus drawdown of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere, as we have since our founding in 2014. We end 2018 as part of a rich and thriving social movement ecosystem, advocating for these goals at emergency speed. After years of fighting uphill, this is a breakthrough.

The gradualist paradigm has been smashed. Together, we have changed the game.

Game changer 1: Congressional support with a movement behind it!

Prior to her primary victory, Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez signed our Pledge to Mobilize [1], and was endorsed by The Climate Mobilization NYC. In taking our pledge, she committed to “organize with others to spread the truth of the climate crisis and build the power necessary to start the Climate Mobilization.” She has exceeded our wildest expectations in delivering on that commitment! In her recent headline-grabbing actions, even before being sworn in, she has embraced the concept of economy and society wide mobilization and made it her key platform.

For us that World War II-style economic mobilization includes very ambitious policies like a federal jobs guarantee and switching to a 100-percent renewable energy economy within ten years.

—Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, November 20, 2018 [2]

Ocasio-Cortez’s “Green New Deal” is closely aligned with The Climate Mobilization’s Victory Plan [3] — and has been shaped in part through our conversations with the Justice Democrats and her advisors over the past two years. [4]

The Green New Deal advocates a 10-year transition to:

  • 100% renewable energy;

  • the full decarbonization of industry, transportation, and agriculture;

  • commitment to drawing down excess greenhouse gases; and

  • a job guarantee in support of this transition! [5]

This proposal is based on the truth of the Climate Emergency. For the first time, national policymakers have stepped forward with a plan that is actually in line with the changes necessary for restoring a safe climate and a just transition.

Ocasio-Cortez’s visionary leadership is a seismic shift! An upwelling of vibrant and energetic people — intergenerational, of all identities and backgrounds — are demanding a solution that offers the speed and scale that could actually protect humanity and the natural world. Already dozens of major organizations and at least 18  Members of Congress, including Civil Rights hero John Lewis, have signed onto Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign for a Green New Deal. We are doing everything we can to mobilize our members and networks to help get a Green New Deal committee established in Congress.

Furthermore, we are thrilled that a new think tank supporting Ocasio-Cortez, the New Consensus Network, is planning to develop a proposal for a national “Office of Climate Mobilization” that would serve as a “hub for planning and administering an economic mobilization to address the threat of climate change.” [6]

This is unprecedented. And we are so proud to be a part of it.

Game Changer 2: Cities Declaring Climate Emergency & Committing to Climate Mobilization

In 2018 our City by City organizing broke through in California. Following the lead of Los Angeles, which kicked off its campaign for Climate Mobilization in 2017, Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond, and Santa Cruz declared Climate Emergency and committed to emergency mobilization and rapid just transition. These declarations and commitments to regional cooperation have galvanized local coalitions in the Bay Area, across California, and across the country. It’s become a national and international campaign at this point: Hoboken, New Jersey and Montgomery County Maryland, as well as three Australian Cities and at least two in the United Kingdom have all declared Climate Emergency and committed to restoring a safe climate at emergency speed. [7,8]

In our work with L.A. City Councilmember Paul Koretz, The Leap, and a coalition of leading environmental justice organizations called Leap L.A., we are very close to creating the nation’s first ever Climate Emergency Mobilization Department, which will be tasked with implementing the sweeping changes necessary to race to zero emissions and beyond. Already we have succeeded in persuading the City Council to study the creation of the department and to earmark $500,000 in seed money toward the department.

TCM has emerged as a central force uniting elected officials, grassroots coalitions, and technical experts to get the climate mobilization started right away. As part of our City by City campaigning, local governments are enlisted as champions for emergency Climate Mobilization. They are spreading the emergency Climate Mobilization paradigm to other cities, and to the state and national level. Berkeley’s Vice Mayor Cheryl Davila convened the first-ever Climate Emergency Town Hall, bringing together leaders from the greater Bay Area to begin collaborating for regional Climate Mobilization.

All of this earned Climate Mobilization some fantastic press this year from Inside Philanthropy, Yale Climate Connections, and from other outlets highlighting our various impacts. [9,10]

Game Changer 3: Climate Emergency Civil Resistance

Extinction Rebellion’s efforts in London have inspired a global movement of escalating non-violent civil disobedience to force emergency climate action.Extinction Rebellion (XR) has taken on the bulk of the The Climate Mobilization’s demands, and are calling for governments to declare Climate Emergency and communicate the scope of this emergency with the public. They are demanding policies to reach zero emissions and reduce overall consumption by 2025 and that these efforts be overseen by a citizens assembly to ensure that the voice of the people is forefront throughout. [11]

As emergency climate action leader (and our advisor) Paul Gilding puts it:

Extinction Rebellion proposes something quite different. They plan civil disobedience blockades at scale – and if they get sufficient support, to shut down cities. To stop the world and make us think. It’s kind of Occupy Wall Street meets the Arab Spring and Tahrir Square, but armed with the world’s top science and clear, practical, and actionable solutions.

TCM has had the honor of working with XR on international expansion — and developing their operating systems to help them scale. Our executive director Margaret even got to occupy some bridges with them on Rebellion Day 1! You can watch a recorded livestream from the ground on “Rebellion Day” to get a sense of the energy behind this effort. [12]

Game Changer 4: YOU!

On a small budget and with dedicated volunteers filling the gaps, we have had an outsized influence on the national climate discourse. But to seize this political moment and accomplish our goals, we need to grow our capacity. With your help, we will make 2019 a year of emergency climate action.

Please make a tax-deductible contribution that is on par with the challenge before us.

Every dollar you donate will go directly into our 2019 action plan. As we demonstrated this year, your support is a powerful investment in the future of the planet and our species.

Endnotes:

[1] View our Pledge to Mobilize here.

[2] Watch video of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez discussing emergency mobilization here.

[3] Read the Victory Plan here.

[4] Watch an extended conversation with Justice Democrats Co-Director Corbin Trent here.

[5] Read the Green New Deal (GND) resolution draft text here. GND goals begin at number 6, toward the bottom of the page.

[6] Read about the work to create a national Office of Climate Mobilization here.

[7] See Mobilize L.A. for a video with author and activist Naomi Klein and L.A. City Councilmember Paul Koretz at the launch event, here.

[8]Watch Oakland’s City Council declare Climate Emergency here.

[9] Read “An Unusual Grant Fuels a Push to Start Treating Climate Change as a Real Emergency,” from Inside Philanthropy here.

[10] Read “Climate Mobilization plea: Cities must declare emergency,” from Yale Climate Connections here.

[11] Read about Extinction Rebellion here.

[12] Watch TCM’s live stream from Extinction Rebellion’s Nov 17 day of action here.

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Zakaria Kronemer

Climate Survival Farming and Food Sovereignty Coordinator

Zakaria Kronemer is a farmer from Richmond, Virginia with roots in community organizing and climate activism. In 2017, he began working with farmers and other communities in rural Virginia to develop a robust campaign against the construction of two fracked-gas pipelines. It was through this struggle —and the relationships built along the way—that connections between food, land, and climate justice were revealed to him. He teamed up with other BIPOC farmers and set out to build an alternative, regional food-system founded on sovereignty, security, ecological stewardship, and human dignity. Zakaria most recently worked as a field manager and program lead with Real Roots Food Systems—an emerging organization striving to increase participation in our food system. He envisions a food system that people can meaningfully participate in without needing to become a farmer, chef, or professional, in which nutrient-dense, healing food is not a luxury or a lifestyle, but a right.

Daisy Carter

Kentucky Movement Incubation Coordinator

Daisy Carter (she/they) is a New Orleans native, queer multi-disciplinary artist and climate justice organizer working at the intersections of mutual aid, disaster resiliency, African-American herbalism, and grassroots organizing. Daisy is inspired by the black radical movements of the so-called U.S and African diaspora, reimagining what healing + self-determination look like for frontline, BIPOC (black, brown, and people of color) communities who are most vulnerable to climate disaster. For the past few years, they have been organizing around mutual aid, environmental + climate justice, and building BIPOC and marginalized leadership throughout Kentucky. In 2021, they founded Rise and Shine, a community-led mutual aid organization building power and solidarity with low-income, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other marginalized communities in Bowling Green, Kentucky and beyond. She has also led numerous political campaigns, direct actions, and led outreach + communications strategy for organizations such as The Sierra Club, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, and the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival. At the Climate Mobilization, she is supporting programming, the development of the Movement Incubation Program, and the creation of climate survival outreach projects.

Alexia Leclerq

Network Coach

Alexia (she/they) is an environmental justice organizer based in Austin, TX. They graduated summa cum laude from NYU (’20), where they self-designed a major titled “The Politics and Economics of Inequality.” Their research focuses on political ecology, environmental justice, AAPI communities, inequality, postcolonialism. As an organizer and researcher they have spent the past 5 years working on various issues from preserving the Colorado River, water rights, fighting land use policy and zoning that enforces race-based discrimination, conducting ethnographic research on climate health, to organizing mutual aid, youth programming, and shaping national legislation alongside members of the Environmental Justice Leadership Forum and the Environmental Justice Health Alliance; today Alexia continues to work as an organizer with PODER, a grassroots EJ org. Alexia is also the co-founder of Start: Empowerment, a BIPOC led social and environmental justice education non-profit working with youth, educators, activists, and community members to implement justice-focused education and programming in schools and community spaces. S:E curriculum and programming has reached over 2,000 students, been recognized by the NYC Department of Education, and taught in universities. In 2021, their work was recognized by the prestigious Brower Youth Award.

Emmett Hopkins

Co-Leader and Director of Operations & Programs

Emmett manages operations and leads Climate Mobilization’s intersectional organizing around transportation justice, where he works with local community groups to build commitment, alignment and action among frontline constituents who rely on public transit and active transportation modes. He brings over a decade of experience collaborating with diverse stakeholders to activate power towards equitable, climate-friendly transportation systems, build mutual-aid-based community food systems, ensure equitable access to public lands, and mobilize resources towards a just transition. In 2021, Emmett developed an online platform for collaborative, community-scale visioning of a just, zero-carbon future. In 2022 he helped launch a transit riders union in Sonoma County, CA, which has engaged in mutual aid, storytelling, and a successful campaign to win fare-free buses and expanded frequency.

Suha Dabbouseh

National Organizer

National Organizer Suha Dabbouseh leads national strategy for The Climate Mobilization. They are originally from Chicago but have lived, organized and rebel-roused in seven states and 11 cities. Suha received their law degree from CUNY-School of Law where they focused on social justice lawyering representing detainees at Guantanamo Bay. While practicing law, Suha had worked to advocate on behalf of domestic violence survivors, transgender clients and fighting employment discrimination. Their passion is building people power and organizing to dismantle structural inequities.

Matt Renner

Executive Director of The Climate Mobilization

Matt has worked as a nonprofit executive in clean energy, climate policy, and journalism for over a decade, focusing on the near-term social and economic impacts of climate change. He leads organizational expansion and works closely with the communications and organizing teams. Matt earned a BA in political science from UC Berkeley, where he was deeply inspired by the work of Professor George Lakoff.

Extended Bio

Mariyah Jahangiri

Co-Leader and Network & Movement Building Director

Mariyah is a first-generation Pakistani community organizer who is on a life-long journey of working to create alternative, anti-capitalist models of collective healing, popular education, community organizing, and mass movement. She has been inspired by studying social movements and organizing in many movement ecosystems and geographies – most recently in Cape Town, Iowa, Puerto Rico, Atlanta, and currently in Los Angeles. At Climate Mobilization, she started as a Network Organizer where she leads programming, coaching, and other resource development for a learning hub of 43+ local decarbonization and climate justice campaigns. She also recently developed strategy for youth, BIPOC-led, climate movements alongside the Network Support Team at Power Shift Network, and organized with the Asian Pacific Environmental Network to base-build in Wilmington and San Pedro alongside low-income API communities most impacted by extractive industries in Los Angeles. Mariyah has spent the past 7 years leading campaigns for Just Transition, abolition, food sovereignty, housing justice, undocumented workers’ organizing, reproductive justice, and Palestine solidarity as well as being involved in mutual aid projects, across more than 15 geographies.

 

Rebecca Harris

Co-Leader and Director of Resource Mobilization

Rebecca has been with Climate Mobilization since 2019 leading our organizing efforts. In this role, she has coached dozens of local climate groups, coordinated organizing trainings, and launched the campaign for a national Climate Emergency Declaration. In July 2021, she collaborated with Acton, MA residents to launch Housing and Climate Justice for Acton, a renters rights and climate justice group led by public housing and Section 8 renters and other low-income residents, and has already won several campaigns. Along with a history of social movement organizing, Rebecca previously worked as a journalist covering equity in Chicago public schools and as the Development and Communications Manager at Latino Union of Chicago, an immigrants’ and workers’ rights organization. She is a 2017 graduate of the Reframe Mentorship in strategic communications and a 2019 participant in the Anne Braden Organizer Training Program.

Marina Mails

Co-Leader and Director of Operations
Marina manages operations and volunteers for both The Climate Mobilization and Climate Mobilization Project. She brings broad experience working in non-profit organizations, health care settings, and running her own private counseling practice. Before joining Climate Mobilization, Marina maintained a practice focusing exclusively on climate-related emotional coping, helping people make bold choices for lifestyle and professional change in response to the Climate Emergency. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish from Wake Forest University and a Masters in Counseling from UNC Greensboro.

Meghann Beer

Co-Leader and Director of Resource Mobilization and Strategy

Meghann brings more than 20 years of nonprofit management and fundraising experience to The Climate Mobilization and Climate Mobilization Project. For over a decade Meghann has worked as a nonprofit consultant helping organizations expand their capacity, secure revenue, develop successful strategies, and effectively evaluate their programs, enabling them to create greater positive change in the world. She has also worked as an executive director, designed and facilitated international service learning experiences, and taught university courses in fundraising and nonprofit management. Meghann earned a MPA in Nonprofit Management and Comparative and International Affairs from The School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, in Bloomington, IN and a BA in Art History and American Studies from Tufts University in Boston, MA.

Cris Lagunas

Strategy Director

Cris is helping to grow the Climate Emergency Movement by supporting creative campaigns and extending the reach of the movement’s message. Cris is a co-founder of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, an organization dedicated to using direct action tactics to expose, challenge and dismantle the immigration detention system.Cris got his start in organizing when he was 15 years old, getting involved in a local group of fellow undocumented youth.

Extended Bio

Zack Burley

Policy Associate

Zack provides policy support for the Climate Mobilization team, and brings a versatile set of policy skills and experiences in labor organizing, journalism, legislative politics, and legal practice to the climate emergency movement. Zack earned a JD from Denver University Sturm College of Law, is a founding organizer of the Political Workers Guild of Colorado, and formerly served as a legislative aide in the Colorado General Assembly.

AriDy Nox

Co-Leader and Director of Narrative Strategy

 AriDy Nox is a multi-disciplinary black femme storyteller and social activist with a variety of forward-thinking creative works under her/their belt. They create out of the vehement belief that creating a future in which marginalized peoples are free requires a radical imagination. Their tales are offerings intended to function as small parts of an ancient, expansive, awe-inspiring tradition of world-shaping, created by and for black femmes. They have over a decade of experience as a young social activist and organizer, within reproductive justice and racial justice frameworks with organizations like the Young Women of Color Leadership Council with Advocates for Youth, the Toni Cade Bamabara Collective at Spelman College and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. They bring creativity, enthusiasm and a tremendous capacity for organization to her/their role and deep belief that times of apocalypse are opportunities for rebirth. We need first imagine the world we want in order to create it.