How to Join or Get Started With Your Own Climate Action Campaign

It’s no secret that climate change is one of the greatest threats we face as a species. If you’ve read anything about the latest IPCC reports, you know that we’re quickly running out of time, assuming we have any left.

Well, there’s good news. For the first time ever, 80% of Americans say they would change their behaviors to help fight climate change.

Since this consciousness is growing throughout the country, more people are getting involved than ever before. If you’re one of them, then we can help you get started. Let’s talk about how to get involved with your own climate action campaign.

Join the Cause

Whether you plan to start your own endeavor later on and want some valuable experience, or you just want to get started, the first step should be to join the cause. If you live in a major city, then you almost certainly have a climate action group near you. Some of the most popular include:

• Sunrise Movement
• Extinction Rebellion
• Greenpeace
• 350
• Sierra Club

There are plenty more, but these are some of the biggest. Look in your area and see if there is an active chapter near you. 

Find the Right Group

You don’t want to join a movement that doesn’t align with your values, right? Of course, the threat of climate change is so overwhelming that you can make some small sacrifices if you need, but you want to ensure they are overall fighting for the right causes. Look into the movement, its history, and its values before joining!

Offer Your Skills

Everybody has some type of skill that would be valuable in climate action, even if they don’t think they do. For example, if you understand technology, try to educate consumers on which technology to buy. If you have customer service, education, or public speaking experience, try face-to-face discussions to educate people on the crisis.

You could have marketing experience, management experience, or even just be loud! There’s no shortage of ways you can help, so tell the group where you’ll be the most effective!

Start Your Own

Generally, we would only recommend this if there are no climate action groups in your area, or if the existing ones aren’t active enough. We need immediate action, so if you’re looking to take matters into your own hands, grab some friends and get to work!

Lay Out Clear Goals

Don’t reinvent the wheel, but make sure that your campaign has clear values and goals. For example:

• “We want leaders to commit to 100% renewable energy by 2040”
• “We demand that our leaders fund carbon capture technology”
• “We demand justice for minority groups disproportionately affected by climate change”
• “We demand technology become available to every household to reduce our carbon footprints”

These are a good start and you can work from there. We said 2040 for renewable energy, as scientists say 2050 is too late, and 2030 is a pipedream at this point. However, your demands are your demands, you will just need to convince others to join your cause!

Reach Out

The most important task in the early days is outreach. Growth is the top priority, so look for every opportunity to reach out to people who care about the climate. Use social media, flyers, or anything else you can.

If you don’t mind younger demographics and you want to include them in the fight, reach out to high schools in the area. This is their future after all, and you may find a bigger crowd than you’d think.

If you’re entirely alone at first, don’t worry. Get out on the streets with a sign, start a social media page, or contact like-minded people you know. It’s the only way to grow a movement.

Delegate Tasks

In the early days of your endeavor, a lot of work needs to be done. Nobody can do it on their own, so your first priority should be to find people to help and delegate tasks to each of them, based on skills. For example, if someone has a writing background, ask them to draft lobbying emails and the graphic designer to make flyers! 

You may have a few different groups or a few dozen. Most importantly, there should have a political team (lobbying, endorsements, etc.), an outreach team, and an organizing team (rallies, meetings, protests, etc.). Figure out who will be best where.

Develop a Personal Climate Action Campaign

For a personal climate change action plan, you will need to determine how to reduce your carbon footprint. No, it shouldn’t be a matter of personal responsibility, and there does need to be collective action to solve this crisis, but it’s still important.

As you build a movement or influence those in the movement you join, convincing others to follow in your footsteps could have a significant impact. We need all the help we can get! Luckily, we can set up plans to reduce my carbon footprint by literally pulling carbon out of the air and turning it into stone.

On top of that, try switching to hybrid, PZEV, or electric vehicles if you can afford it, transition to heat pumps for heating and cooling, and transitioning away from fossil fuels in any way you can. We know this shouldn’t be a consumer problem, but any steps we can take now will be well worth it!

Don’t Give Up

We know that it seems hopeless at times, but that’s why joining or starting a climate action campaign is more important than ever. We need to create the hope that we all so desperately need right now. 

Join the cause, keep trying to reduce your emissions, and keep fighting the good fight! For more information, stay up to date with our latest news and tips!