At the end of 2019 Greta Thunberg appeared on the cover of Time Magazine as its Person of the Year, joining the likes of Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela. The accolade capped a year when it seemed the then-16 year old Swedish climate activist was everywhere: addressing the United Nations, UK Parliament, and U.S. Congress; leading the largest global climate strike in history; mobilizing millions of followers on Twitter. Headlines proclaimed that “she started a global climate movement in 18 months.”

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Of course, environmental activism is not new. More than 50 years ago the first Earth Day brought 20 million people into U.S. streets to protest environmental destruction, and one result was the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Global advocacy organizations like Greenpeace have for decades used direct, nonviolent action to stop the destruction of species and landscapes. Indigenous peoples from the Ecuadoran Amazon to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation have fought for — and won — sovereignty and stewardship on their traditional lands and the right to manage their natural resources.

But there is something different, something galvanizing, about the climate movement in 2020. There are more youth voices. Frontline communities are organizing and making their voices heard.The environmental justice movement is reckoning with the intersection of climate, racism, and gender discrimination. Individuals are flexing their muscles as watch dogs, influencers, voters, investors, and consumers.

Relying on the good intentions (or even self-interest) of those who lead our governments and corporations will not get us to a sustainable, equitable climate future. We need to demand it. We need to show how it can work. We need to tell the story. And we need to do our part.

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Building the Movement. Social movements are the backbone of change, and the movement to demand climate action certainly had momentum in the months before the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with the 2019 global climate strike, activist organizations like Extinction Rebellion and Fire Drill Friday Climate Strikes were calling global attention to the problem through civil disobedience and strikes. In less than a year, groups like the Sunrise Movement transformed the Green New Deal from a fringe idea to a central platform of Democratic lawmakers.

But these are only the most visible elements of a much bigger (and more onerous) effort to move people and organizations from awareness to action. Frontline organizations like Asian Pacific Environmental Network in the Bay Area and UPROSE in New York City are building intergenerational leadership in immigrant and communities of color. Networks like Climate Justice Alliance Al Gore's Climate Reality Project, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance are building coalitions within and across issues, designing collective agendas and strategies, base-building, and creating infrastructure so that when a big moment hits — like Greta’s UN address — that base can be activated.

NYRenews and The Solutions Project                    

Organizing. In spring 2019, more than 8,700 Amazon employees signed an open letter to CEO Jeff Bezos, urging him to take bolder action on climate change. In January 2020, hundreds of employees officially went on a climate strike to condemn the company for its failure to meet its “moral responsibility” in the climate crisis. In response, Bezos changed company policy and said his company will get to net zero emissions by 2040.

This is but one example of how organized action is critical to catalyze real climate policy change. Networks like Communities for a Better Environment, and funders like the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund and The Solutions Project are investing in the leadership and organizing of communities of color that are fighting pollution and winning clean energy campaigns across the U.S.

"The leaders we need right now are the very people who have been living in, and through, crisis for generations. Their solutions point the way for all of us.”

      GLORIA WALTON, CEO       THE SOLUTIONS PROJECT

Elevating Community Solutions. Community-based and Indigenous-led solutions are being tested and elevated, not because they are new, but because they work. From protecting standing forests in the Amazon to building jobs and opportunity in West Virginia as the coal industry declines, local people are creating models that combine solutions across environment, economy, and equity.

When communities have the resources to expand, replicate, and experiment with ideas -- and, crucially, the sovereignty to do so -- the result is real impact on the ground. One example is the Standing Rock Renewable Energy Project. This reservation community is lowering emissions through a majority Tribal-owned utility-scale wind farm.

Changing the Narrative. Climate action has a narrative problem. Although about 70% of Americans believe that global warming is happening, about 1 in 3 still believe that it’s due mostly to natural changes to the environment. And that’s by design: for more than 30 years, members of the industry ran a disinformation campaign about the impact of fossil fuels on our climate. Meanwhile, media analyses have shown that both the message and messengers on climate are homogenous and disconnected from community solutions.

We need new ways of talking about what kind of energy we need to power our society, and how our behaviors are linked to the climate crisis. We need to make an emotional connection to climate, and to elevate the stories of people who are most impacted — because those are the stories that move people to act. In the words of artist and activist Favianna Rodriguez, narrative shapes what people can imagine.

Make It Personal. Though the urgency and scale of our climate problem require action from governments and corporations, individual actions can still make a significant impact. Vote for climate-forward politicians and laws and encourage others to do the same. Consume less. Take a hard look at your finances to ensure that your investments reflect your personal values.

Rare’s Make It Personal framework covers seven individual behaviors that people can practice to make the biggest climate impact. It integrates behavioral levers like social influence so that these behaviors can spread and affect cultural norms.

Peer pressure is notorious for promoting harmful behaviors, but it can also be leveraged in positive, pro-environmental ways. In addition to visible consumer-oriented forms of influence (like coveting your neighbor’s solar panels), having conversations with family and friends about environmental actions can generate widespread change. No one wants to be left behind by the herd, so if these behaviors can become the norm, we can significantly curb emissions and make comprehensive climate policies more likely.