Climate Nexus Announces The Communicating Climate Justice Collaborative

“Nothing About Us Without Us”

Climate change is not one issue but many intersecting issues that must be connected through a series of stories. Connecting the dots among the issues shifts dominant paradigms, connects audiences, fundamentally sets the parameters of the issues/debate, and broadens the implications of the problem and the benefits of the solution. This will require moving beyond a purely scientific and ecological agenda to one that holistically includes issues of racial, social, and environmental inequalities.

What is The Communicating Climate Justice Collaborative?

To ensure that Climate Nexus’ fossil fuel work centered on climate justice and environmental racism meets the needs and priorities of activists and the movement, we are establishing a “Communicating Climate Justice Collaborative (The Collaborative).” The Collaborative will include urban and rural frontline communities, organizations, and networks, as well as tribal and racial justice organizations, focused on the social, racial, and economic issues of climate change. 

The Goals of The Communicating Climate Justice Collaborative

We envision The Collaborative as a space to foster interdisciplinary conversation about the movement’s work, spur potential collaborations, and build a community dedicated to climate justice communications.  The goal of The Collaborative is two-fold:

• Create intentional, ongoing conversations with movement leaders to determine the most additive ways to use strategic communications, storytelling, and narrative shifts that strengthen community power by securing stronger rights, remedies, and resources in the face of systemic and historical injustice; and challenge and transform broken systems that expose communities of color to life-threatening climate and health risks.
• Serve as a space that will foster interdisciplinary conversation about the work of the movement, spur potential collaborations, and build a community specifically dedicated to climate justice communications using story-based strategies that circumvent the structural racism and white supremacy within mainstream media with communities telling their own stories through a climate justice newsletter, citizen journalism/investigative documentaries, and podcasts.

The Collaborative is open to organizations located in and/or serves communities experiencing environmental and climate injustices focused on racial justice, health justice, human rights, economic justice, water and land rights, energy democracy, and voter engagement/protection.