Policy Advocacy: Climate Change

Catalog description

This course will provide participants with step-by-step skills in utilizing the tools of democracy to take meaningful civic action on climate change. Participants will learn the levers for building political will and the essentials of climate change communication. They will apply their learning by taking action in collaboration with a local environmental organizations, and further their learning with their peers via Antioch’s online learning platform and one-on-one meetings with the instructors. The United Nations Secretary-General called the 6th IPCC report “an ear-splitting wake-up call to the world. It confirms that climate change is running faster than we are - and we are running out of time” (United Nations Secretary General, 2018). But how do individuals take action beyond reducing their own carbon footprint? How can we advocate for the policies that will help solve this global crisis? While there is growing awareness in the U.S. Congress that action must be taken, federal legislators have little incentive to act unless there is focused engagement by constituents. This course positions participants to engage in effective policy advocacy focused on climate change.