Ko resna neurja zajamejo mesta, so to tudi soseske z nizkimi prihodki bolj verjetno videti večjo škodo in manj sredstev za obnovo kot bogatejša območja. Med ekstremnimi vročinskimi valovi se delavci na podeželskih kmetijah, ki delajo na poljih, soočajo z dolgimi urami v zahrbtnih razmerah, malo zaščit po zakonu. Dvig morske gladine na obalah majhnih otoških držav s pomanjkanjem virov pušča prebivalcem nemogoče izbira plačila drage adaptacije ali selitve.
Vplivi podnebnih sprememb so nesorazmerno prizadeli tiste, ki prebivajo v revnejših skupnostih, za katere je večja verjetnost, da bodo v ZDA barvni ljudje, zlasti pa otroke in starejše v teh skupnostih.
Prejšnji teden na GreenBizovi letni podnebno-tehnološki konferenci, VERGE 21, business leaders, climate activists and tech entrepreneurs discussed how to effectively implement climate solutions to help such communities affected by climate change’s “first and worst.” Technological, policy and nature-based solutions to climate change already exist, and more are being created every day. The question is how to effectively put them in action.
Najboljši odgovor, po mnenju tistih v teh prvih skupnostih in tistih, ki so začeli različne podnebne projekte, je pošteno, pregledno vzpostavljanje zaupanja s člani skupnosti, ki sodelujejo pri dejanskem izvajanju rešitev in dolgoročnih naložbah v člane skupnosti.
Moč nakupa skupnosti za nove projekte
Na eni seji VERGE, ki se je osredotočala na podnebno tehnologijo, je Julia Kumari Drapkin, izvršna direktorica in ustanoviteljica participativne znanstvene platforme ISeeChange, razpravljala o tem, kako so tradicionalni pristopi k podnebnim rešitvam, ki sodelujejo z ranljivimi skupnostmi z nizkimi dohodki, razočarali tiste, ki so jim namenjeni.
“Top-down, well-intentioned solutions failed to keep pace with local means,” she said.
Drapkin’s ISeeChange is a digital tool that instead enables citizens to report the impacts of climate change around them, then works with policymakers and solutions providers to address these issues on the ground. On the mobile app, citizens can report observations of the natural world around them, from temperatures to rainfall to frost to flowers and bugs. Small talk anecdotes such as “It’s never this cold in April” or “The rhododendron never bloom this time of year,” when collected and connected together, become cold hard data that shows the effects of a changing climate.
ISeeChange’s data also serves as evidence of how communities that have been disinvested in for years often face worse impacts, and their concerns are often overlooked. “One-fifth of new public projects are cancelled due to social and environmental concerns of local communities,” she pointed out.
Dobronamerne rešitve od zgoraj navzdol niso uspele slediti lokalnim sredstvom.
“Most of our clients have critical trust issues,” she added. For generations, outsiders have come into their communities promising to solve problems, but rarely ask what community members need, instead believing they know better themselves. Sometimes, they make the problems worse, leaving a legacy of “multigenerational toxic narratives.” Building — or rebuilding — trust is crucial for the success of projects.
The Rev. Michael Malcom, founder and executive director of The People’s Justice Council and Alabama Interfaith Power and Light, agreed. His work centers on intersectional environmental justice, and in his observed experience, those coming to low-income communities often have a “throw the [brick] over the wall” approach to providing climate technology, he said. However, they ignore factors like who will undertake the work of implementing and maintaining.
Podjetja na primer pridejo v mesto Malcom na podeželju Alabame v upanju, da bodo namestila sončne kolektorje, eno najbolj zrelih oblik čiste tehnologije, vendar brez sodelovanja skupnosti ne bodo nameščeni, uporabljeni in ne bodo zagotavljali prihranka energije ali podnebnih koristi , je pojasnil.
Instead, Malcom issued “a call to care for communities and a call to cooperate with communities.”
Dejansko je avtohtona mehiško-čilska podnebna aktivistka Xiye Bastida govorila o podobni situaciji, ko je nagovorila občinstvo VERGE 21. Ko je zahtevala intersekcijsko prizorišče podnebne krize, je opisala, kako je Univerza v Mexico Cityju poskušala zgraditi nov kampus na zemljišču blizu staroselske skupnosti. Medtem ko je staroselska skupnost uradnikom povedala, da je zemljišče nestabilno, je univerza vseeno nadaljevala s projektom - a ga ni mogla dokončati, ker so bila tla nevarna in se je stavba začela pogrezati, tako kot je skupnost napovedovala.
“The people who have lived on the land for thousands of years know it best,” she said, urging policymakers and entrepreneurs to meaningfully listen to them.
Poleg novih podnebnih projektov vlagajte v člane skupnosti
Za Suzanne Singer, članico plemena Navajo (Diné) in soustanoviteljico neprofitne organizacije Native Renewables, gresta delo na projektih čiste energije in spodbujanje izobraževanja s člani plemena z roko v roki.
Native Renewables pomaga plemenskim skupnostim povečati tehnične zmogljivosti obnovljive energije in cenovno ugoden dostop do električne energije izven omrežja, s čimer si prizadeva za svojo splošno misijo opolnomočenja indijanskih družin z energetsko neodvisnostjo.
In her conversation at VERGE 21, she pointed out how Native American communities are notoriously underfunded. “I think some things that are unknown are how many families need infrastructure, electricity, roads, access to clean water, even running water.”
“We know the community we work in and the culture — in some cases we know the language, because many don’t speak English,” she added, referencing her company.
She urges policymakers and entrepreneurs hoping to work to start “thinking more creatively about what communities want beyond just the project itself.”
Native Renewables, for example, not only helps build solar projects and microgrids, but also offers opportunities for community members to learn about energy, get trained in building or maintenance and more. Singer said that it’s about “trying to invest in our own people through workforce and trainings.”
Ti pristopi bodo od podjetij zahtevali, da ponovno razmislijo o tem, kako trenutno uvajajo projekte podnebne tehnologije in čiste energije. Naš odgovor na temeljni izziv podnebnih sprememb mora zagotoviti dostop in priložnost tam, kjer nam prej ni uspelo, zagotoviti zdravje in dobro počutje vseh ter si prizadevati za odpravo nepravičnih vzorcev in praks, ki so nas pripeljale do te netrajnostne točke.
