Why is this a good time to talk about climate solutions? Not just to get your mind off the US Senate, but because attention is again finally moving toward a pressing business case for attending to climate change impacts and pursuing possible solutions. BlackRock is pulling back from fossil fuels in its managed accounts, Microsoft is going carbon negative and beyond and Davos devoted its high finance meeting to the climate challenge. These are just three recent indications.
At the same time, according to Vox, "No Democrat who has eyes on the White House can come to the table without a credible plan to limit greenhouse gases, adapt to rising seas, and to ensure a just transition toward a clean economy". And the dimensions of a just transition are increasingly including an explicit focus on equity, affordability, access for all members of the community, and prioritizing low income communities and communities burdened by the fossil fuel industry.
On Feb. 8th the Faith Meets Business: Climate Solutions for the Common Good community dialogue doesn't pretend to address all these issues, but to begin a discussion about what our community thinks are healthy ways we can proceed to become more resilient, save money, energy, cut our carbon emissions and consider needs of marginalized communities in the process.
Locally, we know there are businesses working to make their activities more sustainable and resilient and we hope to hear what they're doing and what they would like to see continued or see more or less of. And I'll be meeting with Edwin Revell at the city hall next Monday to hear about Birmingham's activities.
Our target participants are those organizations and individuals already concerned by the threat of rapid, human-caused climate change and are interested in solutions. There are no silver bullets, but some much-needed silver buckshot.
We hope some of you and/or some of your connections can join the Feb. 8th dialogue and help enlighten us about the opportunities you see as we navigate this transition for our community. Registration ends Feb. 4th -see https://climatesolutionsforall.org/. Tickets are $25/$15 for students, and include a veggie box lunch. Thanks to those of you on the program or already signed up. (Please excuse multiple mailings.) More information is attached and at website. Let's talk about it!
Joyce
Joyce A. Lanning Birmingham, AL M: 205-936-4212
Register by Feb. 4th at climatesolutionsforall.org