As the Chair of Lincoln’s Climate Commission I was invited to Leeds to meet in-person with other Climate Commissioner Chairs from the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber to chat about the challenges we are facing together as we steward important conversations around improving social justice through tackling climate change.
We found a lot of common ground in our discussions and outline some reflections below:
Political Tensions: We noted that it was more difficult to have conversations with some political figures, especially around renewable energy infrastructure, including wind and solar farms
Governance: There was a recognition that Climate Commissions are being run in different ways, with some operating as community organisations with a constitution document. This is the governance model that I will be recommending for the Lincoln Climate Commission.
Funding: Most Climate Commissioners in the room stated that their commissions were facing challenges around sustainability and accessing funding. There are no easy answers here!
Organisational Structure: There are real challenges around organisational structure and the tension that exists between groups being volunteer-led and having paid Climate Commissioners helping to drive the work forward. Many Climate Commissioners are balancing their work with busy day jobs.
Activities: Many Climate Commissioners are focussing on community education projects, supporting schools to connect with one another and engaging with local councils whilst maintaining independence from them.
Positioning: Commissioners across the region share a broadly similar identity and sense of purpose. None see themselves as leading an activist movement, nor as deeply embedded in grassroots campaigning. Climate Commission spaces provide opportunities for university researchers and scientists to share their research, as well as opportunities for business leaders, representatives from more grassroots organisations and representatives from local Government to have frank and honest discussions on the work.
Joint Working: We discussed the potential to act as a regional lobbying group, identifying issues and challenges of national or regional significance to work on together and try to bring about incremental change within existing systems.
I’m looking forward to sharing more learning with the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber Climate Commissioners Group in the future!