When Leaders Fail, Communities Rise
This past November, hundreds of politicians, leaders, organizations, and activists from around the globe gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan for COP29. The COP, or Conference of the Parties, has met every year since 1995 to make decisions about solving the world’s most pressing issues related to climate change. Just outside the halls of the climate summit, hundreds of protestors came together. Among their demands was a greater allocation of funds for climate finance, which calls on wealthy nations to provide lower-income countries in the Global South with funds to adapt to climate change. After requesting $1.3 trillion in climate finance, developing nations instead received $300 billion in a deal reached after two weeks of intense negotiations. The results of COP29 left many disappointed, with some viewing it as a failure and others as a disaster.
COP29 is not alone, however, in creating controversy and receiving criticism. At multiple COP conferences in a row, the number of delegates holding ties to the fossil fuel industry has outnumbered almost every national delegation attending the talks. It thus seems natural that collective action resulting from COP often falls short, lacks concrete implementation plans, and advances a continued reliance on fossil fuels.
Co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel.
COP29 took place only weeks after the re-election of Donald Trump. Global efforts to address climate change—already insufficient to meet the moment—will become even more difficult under a second Trump administration. With plans to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and mounting pressure from conservative lobbyists to withdraw from the overarching UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Trump will likely exit global climate negotiations as a whole. At the same time, he will be the leader of the world’s second-highest carbon emitting economy, whose emissions are expected to go up significantly under his administration’s plans to ramp up fossil fuel exploitation and reduce regulations on CO2-intensive industries. Trump is joined by the rise of right-wing leaders around the world, including Argentina’s President Milei who is also considering withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, as well as several campaign platforms across Europe such as Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party calling for the same.
As a climate activist, I often reflect on the lack of high-level action that leaders engaged in talks like the COP push forward and the ways that climate action is subject to the ebbs and flows of political cycles. With fires burning through the west coast of North America, increasingly irregular monsoons disrupting agricultural harvest in South Asia, and a multi-year drought degrading the land in many areas of the Middle East, the necessity of progressive policy to address climate could not be clearer—but somehow seems so out of reach. But in the face of rising climate anxiety and an almost complete dismantling of federal leadership drawing closer, my commitment to grassroots, bottom-up campaigns centering the voices of those most impacted by climate change has only increased.
Clouds settle over downtown Evanston high-rises after a windblown day. Credit: Richard Cahan
In the United States, municipal governments and local organizations are already leading the charge with such campaigns and filling the gaps left by national and international decision-makers. For example, in Evanston, Illinois, the city government’s sustainability staff worked to draft a Healthy Buildings Ordinance (HBO) that would require large buildings in Evanston to transition to fully renewable energy sources. As a member of the Environment Board, I have been fortunate to be a part of the process of researching and writing this critical policy and to learn from sustainability experts from around the country. The vocal support for the HBO increased significantly after the election, in large part due to the organizing of Climate Action Evanston — a local non-profit leading climate mitigation and resilience in the city. In Cleveland, Mayor Justin Bibb, chair of Climate Mayors, announced that mayors are going to protect the investments made through the Inflation Reduction Act and “double down on [their] commitment, passion and vigor to continue to address these issues, especially at the local level.”
Across the world, locally led climate solutions are similarly making a significant impact. The South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE) trains women farmers in hydroponic floating farms and aquaculture to support flood-prone areas in maintaining steady production throughout the year. Their success has earned them funding from the UN. In Africa, Kenya’s County Climate Change Funds provided five counties in vulnerable areas with climate financing to design and implement their own climate solutions. The pilot program, launched in 2011, has influenced the development of the same fund in all 47 counties as of 2023.
I look up to leaders like Mayor Bibb, who strive to instill hope in their communities. Long-term climate action will not come from a single summit or deal, but rather from the sustained efforts occurring each day in city councils, community centers, and neighborhoods that are already experiencing the frontline impacts of the climate crisis.
The transformative action that is required will be driven by the people and communities who refuse to accept inaction as an option and instead continue to engage in collective efforts to create a better future for us all.
RCC National Environment Leadership Fellow — Anusha Kumar – Northwestern University
Anusha Kumar is a junior at Northwestern University, majoring in Social Policy and Environmental Policy and Culture. Central to her identity is the recognition that her experiences as a queer South Asian woman guide her perspectives. An environmental organizer at heart, Anusha aims to understand the impacts of policing and surveillance on environmental racism.
