Climate Action and Coalitions, Alliances and Networks — Introduction
Olympian Fields of Action Series Post #14.1
This post continues our discussion of how we in The Climate Movement can be successful by being together enough, our sixth characteristic/imperative/goal.
Coalitions, alliances, and networks are another way we can be together enough in all three senses: shared goals, a constant stream of action events, and meeting together regularly.
Coalitions and alliances are usually made up of collective entities — groups, organizations, associations, teams, businesses, schools, faith communities. Networks can be individuals and groups, but here I am focused on those that have collective entities.
For this discussion, coalitions, alliances, and networks are functionally equivalent. At times I will use “coalitions” to represent all three.
Coalitions/alliances/networks help us to be big and broad and active enough, our first characteristic/imperative/goal, when they demonstrate that climate action is supported all across society, especially by groups that are not perceived to be movement types. This helps not only with engaging policymakers, but also with growing Climate Action Supporters, the second of The Catalytic-4.
As is the case with organizations, coalitions can be focused exclusively on climate change, or climate change can be one of a number of issues they address (e.g. The Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago or AMAN in Indonesia).
I will be presenting a Subseries of posts to provide an illustrative sampling of the breadth of current coalitions/alliances/networks working on climate change. Here is the outline of the Subseries:
§ 14.1: Introduction (i.e. this post)
§ 14.2: Brief Descriptions
§ 14.3: The Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC)
§ 14.4: The Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) and the Climate Leadership Council (CLC)
§ 14.5: Foundation-led coalitions: The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and the Clima Fund
§ 14.6: The #StopEACOP coalition
§ 14.7: The We Mean Business coalition
§ 14.8: The Green Economy coalition and the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEALL)
§ 14.9: The Race to Zero and Race to Resilience coalitions
The Brief Descriptions post will give an introductory sense of the lay of the land by providing quick summaries of eight other coalitions. Subsequent posts will continue our illustrative sampling with examples that not only show the breadth of the Climate Movement, but also raise interesting issues and questions about the make-up and character of our Movement. We need to be broad enough. But how broad is too broad?
Just like our other social forms, coalitions are essential for helping to keep us active enough by organizing action events.
Aside from helping us to be big and broad and active enough, coalitions, alliances, and networks help us to be dynamic enough through their balancing of the tried-and-true, discipline, freedom, and creativity. They are such a mainstay of movement building and engaging policymakers that hardly anyone gives a second thought to their creation for these purposes.
Freedom is foundational: freedom to create a coalition/alliance/network, freedom to join, freedom to leave. Upon this foundation of freedom coalitions form because they believe they are stronger together as coalition partners or members as they try to achieve a common interest. When true, such coalitions help make us organic and strategic enough.
In general, what falls within that common interest must be constantly negotiated by coalition partners. This takes a great deal of time, effort, and creativity. The freedom to leave helps coalitions to stay disciplined and focused on what they have come together to do.
Is it worth it? This also is something that constantly hangs over every coalition/alliance/network. Staying in must be worth it. We may share a common goal. But do we have a better chance of achieving that goal by being a part of this particular coalition? Can we achieve the goal with a smaller coalition that requires less time and effort, or even on our own?
Sometimes coalition partners stay out of loyalty, or because of the relational capital they have built up, or to maintain their reputation for being trustworthy and a partner you can rely on.
In the present moment it can be hard to see all the future success a coalition/alliance/network will achieve. A group may have stayed out of loyalty and have their loyalty rewarded by a victory they didn’t think possible.
This points to the limits of a premature analysis based on a faulty application of strategic pragmatism, a pragmatism without wisdom’s discernment, which can have us jumping ship before all the facts are in. Why did you join in the first place? Was it not because you believed you and your coalition partners were stronger together? Have enough discipline to give that belief a chance to prove itself.
As such, coalitions/alliances/networks can help with the Climate Movement’s seventh characteristic/imperative/goal of engaging long enough by encouraging their members to stay the course when some would have given up not only on the coalition, but on making a meaningful contribution to our vision, purpose, and Major Goal.
However, because we are on the climate clock, wisdom and pragmatism must be combined with love’s desire and justice’s call for swift, bold action. Coalition patience has its limits.
Some final notes of warning must be sounded. We cannot assume that coalitions/alliances/networks by their very nature or existence are beneficial.
First, because we are on the kairos-chronos climate clock, even coalitions in favor of action can end up impeding the speed and scale of needed change. In joining together, coalitions are constrained by their most cautious and conservative members. They may not force the coalition to the lowest common denominator, but they can move everyone in that direction. In some cases this may have been their reason for joining the coalition in the first place, to slow down the pace and diminish the magnitude of such change. The demands, desires, and actions of justice — to stop bad stuff, set wrong right, and make things better — combined with the need to make our future come faster, can keep coalitions from being slow-walked by recalcitrant members and opponents in disguise.
The rest of us in the Climate Movement must continue to press for boldness. Those in the coalition must use wisdom to help evaluate not just when to stick it out, but also the other side: when it could be time to leave. To make our future come faster we can’t waste time in an unproductive coalition.
Second, some coalitions/alliances/networks are our opponents. They may sound like they are with us, but in fact are greenwashing, pure and simple — a Grifter coalition trying to steal our hope. Trickery, deception, and outright lies can be par for the course. Some exist primarily to spread falsehoods about climate change. Others exist to flat-out oppose us, such as the “CO2 Coalition” and the “Cooler Heads Coalition.” While these two have a track record, many of these front groups can quickly sprout up with positive-sounding names and then disappear just as fast. They have no qualms about making a faux moral case, including shedding crocodile tears for the poor.
Of course, organized efforts by our opponents come in many forms besides coalitions — think tanks, astroturf organizations, Centers, Institutes, etc. They take such forms, with the aura of goodness these forms have earned, and corrupt them, attempting to hoodwink the unsuspecting — which could be any of us. Even the most careful can fall prey to such Grifter deceit.
I make these notes of warning not so that we will have an undue focus on what our opponents are doing — they would like nothing better than for us to waste our time and energy focused on them rather than positive action. I make them precisely so that the vast majority of us will stay focused on moving the ball down the field and not get hoodwinked along the way.
So the rest of us can concentrate on achieving our Major Goal, it’s very helpful for the Climate Movement to have a small number of folks dedicated to exposing these shams, such as Kert Davies and the Climate Investigations Center and the Center for Climate Integrity, and investigative reporting done by news outlets like Inside Climate News.
Coalitions/alliances/networks can be a valuable organizational form that helps us with our Major Goal. But we must be mindful of their limitations and the potential for wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Summing Up Together Enough Thus Far
So to sum up the together enough discussion thus far, environmental and climate organizations, civil society organizations, professional associations, faith communities, coalitions/alliances/networks, and businesses working to achieve our Major Goal will play a key role in making the Climate Movement all it needs to be: big and broad and active enough, passionate enough, deep enough, dynamic enough, organic and strategic enough, together enough, and long enough. They can expand significantly the Fields of Action that Climate Action Artist Athletes compete upon.
They also can be vital to the creation of Climate Action Supporters, who as the second Catalytic Source of Transformation are essential to achieving our vision, purpose, and Major Goal, working with the other Catalytic-4 to do so. We need it all to pull our destiny into the present and make the impossible possible and the possible actual and the actual beautiful and our future come faster. Ours is a time for regular folk to become heroes together. Join us!
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