Last month, our Climate Matters article spoke about climate anxiety and how simple actions can address feelings of hopelessness and the notion there is nothing we, as individuals, can do to make a difference.
Although we can change our behaviours, there can still be a lingering sense that our actions are ineffective in making a big difference to climate impacts.
If you are feeling this way, take comfort in knowing that experts agree social change often comes from individual activism, which sets an example for others to observe, consider and possibly follow.
Collective action, another key mechanism of change-making, can also address the anxiety we feel, while producing impressive results in a way that individuals cannot. We offer a recent example below, which demonstrates that when many people speak up, our public institutions do hear us.
In 2022, as part of its Climate Emergency Action Plan, the City of Vancouver banned the use of fossil fuel for heating and hot water in new buildings. It set a new national precedent and effectively reduced carbon emissions in new buildings by more than 95 per cent. However, in July 2024, after being lobbied by the fossil fuel industry, the mayor and several council members presented a motion to rescind that policy.
In response, several grassroots climate organizations rallied their troop and took action by writing letters, making phone calls and participating in council meetings. This included Stand.Earth, Dogwood, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), student climate groups, the David Suzuki Foundation, as well as several green builders and business leaders.
Almost 150 CAPE health professionals sent letters to Vancouver council encouraging them to maintain the ban on fossil fuels in new builds, citing the health benefits of better indoor air quality and climate mitigation. The Shuswap Climate Action Society was also one of the letter writers, encouraging Vancouver council to show real climate leadership and reject the motion.
The pro-climate contingent who spoke against the motion at the Vancouver council meeting, vastly outnumbered the industry pro-gas voices by 94 to 17, respectively. In the final vote, Vancouver council was tied 5 – 5, which led to the motion being defeated and the ban on fossil fuels in new buildings remaining in place. This was truly a win for the environmental and climate movements in B.C. and exemplifies what we can accomplish if we work together.
While we have witnessed some wins over the past year, all of us need to continue to be vigilant, persistent and patient. Our collective actions can prevail if our voices are heard in sufficient numbers such that we cannot be ignored, as we saw in Vancouver.
Julia Beatty chairs the Shuswap Climate Action Society
