February 11, 2009
Community Based Climate Change Initiatives in China and the U.S.
George Hamilton
President, Institute for Sustainable Communities
Minutes of the 18th Meeting of the 67th Year
The 18th meeting of the 67th year was called to order at 10:15 AM in the Friend Center Convocation Room. President George Hansen presided and led the invocation.
Guests were Kai Evenson and Lanny King, introduced by Henry King; Adele Agin, introduced by Ruth Miller; and Ed Gaynor, introduced by Bob Fomalont. Estimated attendance was 90.
Russell Marks read the minutes of the February 4 meeting, including the talk “A new and different culture of foreign policy?” by Raymond Close. There was an announcement of the next meeting February 18, 10:15 AM at Friend Center. Arthur Levine, President, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, will speak on “Who will teach our children?”
Henry King introduced our speaker, George Hamilton, president of the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC). His topic was “Community-based climate change initiatives in China and the US.”
ISC is a nonprofit that has managed 72 projects in 20 countries, has a staff of 65, and has both private and government funding.
The first slide conveyed the urgency of the climate challenges that ISC is confronting. It showed Nizhnii Tagil, one of the most polluted cities in Russia, obscured by haze, surrounded by chimneys and columns of toxic smoke. At the invitation of the Russian government, ISC worked in Nizhnii Tagil for eight years, focusing on community environmental management, leadership development, local action on climate disruption, and active citizenship – all in a society without a tradition of community action. The US EPA estimated that 35 lives/year are saved as a result of ISC’s work.
Why focus on communities? ISC looks at implementation of policies as the bottleneck in achieving social improvement, and communities as where policies get translated into local action. The integration of economic, environmental, and social aspects of solutions is more tractable at the community level. Cultural change begins in the community, demonstration projects have a better chance of challenging social norms, and people can see the effects of change first hand. The ISC theory of change is that healthy communities are the foundation of a healthy society.
The ISC views global climate disruption as the sustainable development challenge of our time. ISC focuses on helping communities around the world increase energy efficiency and independence, reduce climate pollution, and strengthen resilience to climate disruption. At the local level, this translates into improved public health and quality of life, job creation, and saving households money . The emphasis is on China and the US, which together account for 40% of world greenhouse gas emissions.
Two case studies were presented. The first was Guangdong province in southern China. It’s the size of New England but has more manufacturing jobs than the entire US. Among its many problems are poor environmental health indicators, limited capacity to address problems, few international organizations in place, massive fossil fuel consumption and CO2 generation, as well as being a source of US acid rain.
ISC held hundreds of meetings in the region. It concluded, for example, that they needed to engage government, business, municipalities, NGOs and citizens, and also that it was important to partner with multinational corporations. In China the MNCs have more credibility than the US government or NGOs.
The outcome was an environmental partnership program: public/private, US/China, business/government/schools/community.
First, ISC helped found an Environment, Health and Safety Academy at a local university, with the goal of expanding the pool of EHS managers. By the end of year 3, 1800 will be enrolled and 360 certified EHS managers graduated annually
Second, it supported Chinese government environmental enforcement, with the goal of strengthening public agencies. It partnered with EPA and new Chinese regional supervision centers to help implement environmental laws.
Third, it promoted community-based improvements in energy efficiency, with a goal of strengthening the capacity of communities to address energy and health practices.
Fourth, in education, it worked with a local university to develop a curriculum around environmental health, energy efficiency and sustainable development. The goal is to develop young leaders – “champions” - who will carry on the work.
The second case study focused on the US gulf coast and climate disruption, in particular the impact of Katrina. One of the poorest cities on the coast, Moss Point, Mississippi, was chosen. Local government and community groups there had many offers of help, but leadership was inexperienced and many government officials had just disappeared. The community had no capacity to respond. ISC brought in technical experts, engaged the whole community in redevelopment plans, and provided leadership training to key government officials. Residents are now transforming Moss Point to a more livable community, and reconstruction aid is directed by community defined goals. A sustainable network of eight small, low-income coastal communities has also been set up.
In a new initiative, seed funding has been obtained for a community climate leadership academy, with the goal of building capacity of municipalities across the US to address climate issues. The Academy will target the hundreds of US cities that have the will, but lack the capacity, to move ahead.
Respectfully submitted,
Joe Giordmaine
Guests were Kai Evenson and Lanny King, introduced by Henry King; Adele Agin, introduced by Ruth Miller; and Ed Gaynor, introduced by Bob Fomalont. Estimated attendance was 90.
Russell Marks read the minutes of the February 4 meeting, including the talk “A new and different culture of foreign policy?” by Raymond Close. There was an announcement of the next meeting February 18, 10:15 AM at Friend Center. Arthur Levine, President, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, will speak on “Who will teach our children?”
Henry King introduced our speaker, George Hamilton, president of the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC). His topic was “Community-based climate change initiatives in China and the US.”
ISC is a nonprofit that has managed 72 projects in 20 countries, has a staff of 65, and has both private and government funding.
The first slide conveyed the urgency of the climate challenges that ISC is confronting. It showed Nizhnii Tagil, one of the most polluted cities in Russia, obscured by haze, surrounded by chimneys and columns of toxic smoke. At the invitation of the Russian government, ISC worked in Nizhnii Tagil for eight years, focusing on community environmental management, leadership development, local action on climate disruption, and active citizenship – all in a society without a tradition of community action. The US EPA estimated that 35 lives/year are saved as a result of ISC’s work.
Why focus on communities? ISC looks at implementation of policies as the bottleneck in achieving social improvement, and communities as where policies get translated into local action. The integration of economic, environmental, and social aspects of solutions is more tractable at the community level. Cultural change begins in the community, demonstration projects have a better chance of challenging social norms, and people can see the effects of change first hand. The ISC theory of change is that healthy communities are the foundation of a healthy society.
The ISC views global climate disruption as the sustainable development challenge of our time. ISC focuses on helping communities around the world increase energy efficiency and independence, reduce climate pollution, and strengthen resilience to climate disruption. At the local level, this translates into improved public health and quality of life, job creation, and saving households money . The emphasis is on China and the US, which together account for 40% of world greenhouse gas emissions.
Two case studies were presented. The first was Guangdong province in southern China. It’s the size of New England but has more manufacturing jobs than the entire US. Among its many problems are poor environmental health indicators, limited capacity to address problems, few international organizations in place, massive fossil fuel consumption and CO2 generation, as well as being a source of US acid rain.
ISC held hundreds of meetings in the region. It concluded, for example, that they needed to engage government, business, municipalities, NGOs and citizens, and also that it was important to partner with multinational corporations. In China the MNCs have more credibility than the US government or NGOs.
The outcome was an environmental partnership program: public/private, US/China, business/government/schools/community.
First, ISC helped found an Environment, Health and Safety Academy at a local university, with the goal of expanding the pool of EHS managers. By the end of year 3, 1800 will be enrolled and 360 certified EHS managers graduated annually
Second, it supported Chinese government environmental enforcement, with the goal of strengthening public agencies. It partnered with EPA and new Chinese regional supervision centers to help implement environmental laws.
Third, it promoted community-based improvements in energy efficiency, with a goal of strengthening the capacity of communities to address energy and health practices.
Fourth, in education, it worked with a local university to develop a curriculum around environmental health, energy efficiency and sustainable development. The goal is to develop young leaders – “champions” - who will carry on the work.
The second case study focused on the US gulf coast and climate disruption, in particular the impact of Katrina. One of the poorest cities on the coast, Moss Point, Mississippi, was chosen. Local government and community groups there had many offers of help, but leadership was inexperienced and many government officials had just disappeared. The community had no capacity to respond. ISC brought in technical experts, engaged the whole community in redevelopment plans, and provided leadership training to key government officials. Residents are now transforming Moss Point to a more livable community, and reconstruction aid is directed by community defined goals. A sustainable network of eight small, low-income coastal communities has also been set up.
In a new initiative, seed funding has been obtained for a community climate leadership academy, with the goal of building capacity of municipalities across the US to address climate issues. The Academy will target the hundreds of US cities that have the will, but lack the capacity, to move ahead.
Respectfully submitted,
Joe Giordmaine