Fostering Community-Led Climate Action

Climate change affects all of us. As the natural world endures rising temperatures and the fallout from extreme weather events, so do our bodies. Though our individual and collective vulnerabilities may differ, no one is immune. Climate change is a problem every nation, industry, and institution must face. Climate change is also deeply personal, as every community, family, and individual will be impacted. Though unique in its scope and scale, the challenges presented by climate change are not unfamiliar to public health. It’s important to remember that public health has a long history of recognizing and responding to complex, intersecting societal issues that produce group-differentiated vulnerabilities to harm. Fulfilling an essential role in communities across the country, the constant challenge health departments face is meeting the moment. Recognizing patterns and understanding the connections between a confluence of factors that impact health is what we do. Climate change is not only a problem for the environmentalists; a growing body of evidence demonstrates its syndemic potential to negatively impact all of the social determinants of health and threaten decades of progress toward achieving social justice and our public health goals. The COVID-19 response generated many important strategies to consider as we are called, once again, to mobilize to meet our current moment. I’ll highlight a few equitable community engagement strategies we use in The Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness at the New York City Department of Health and Hygiene. Diversify Communications Outreach and Content The writer and playwright Lorraine Hansberry once said, “in order to create the universal, you must pay attention to the specific.”11Lorraine Hansberry radio interview with Studs Terkel, broadcast on WFMT Radio, Chicago, Illinois, May 12, 1959, “Make New Sounds: Studs Terkel Interviews Lorraine Hansberry.” American Theater (November 1984): 6. Effectively communicating to inform and educate diverse audiences about health, factors that influence it, and how to improve is an essential public health service. To keep people aware, engaged, and motivated to prepare for and respond to climate change, health departments need to tailor their communications to their audiences. The explosion of social media and artificial intelligence in the 21st century means that health departments have more opportunities to approach communication more equitably, reaching people where they are. A message conveyed through a short video on social media may impact more and different groups than an official press release; what matters is that the information is accurate and clear. Communicating through a variety of channels in numerous languages helps to ensure that as many people as possible are informed about local climate change risks and solutions. Listening sessions and town halls can help foster a deeper understanding of the various beliefs and barriers to public health information or interventions that are our responsibility. In addition to traditional communications from health departments, hearing from people with knowledge situated in the local context of the communities we serve is especially meaningful. People want to be seen and understood. Narrative storytelling tactics deployed for other responses, like photovoice, can also be part of a public health agency’s climate communication tool kit. Giving community members an outlet to share their experiences and stories with climate change humanizes the crisis, makes it real, and fosters empathy. Make Education Accessible Education is a foundation of climate action. Public health agencies should actively pursue opportunities to facilitate climate education through events like community teach-ins. These gatherings, which can be held in person, virtually, or in a hybrid format, allow people to share knowledge and learn from one another in a collaborative setting. Focus groups are another way for people to voice their concerns and questions about climate change, which in turn helps public health agencies inform their community engagement and outreach. Health departments should also invest in capacity-building efforts for their staff and the broader public health workforce in their jurisdiction to raise awareness and drive action. Regardless of the intended audience, equity is a necessary aspect of any educational efforts around climate change. People need a deeper understanding of the social and political factors that influence their experiences with climate change in order to support their communities. Framing climate change in the context of equity highlights the ways that discriminatory policies shape health outcomes and can illuminate knowledge gaps and biases. It is important to recognize that while all community members are vulnerable to climate change, there are group-differentiated vulnerabilities that undergird these deep-rooted inequities. In that same vein, people with lived experience – those facing the greatest immediate impacts of climate change – are often ignored and marginalized. This drives so-called mistrust of the system. Our professional integrity and the authenticity of our educational pursuits hinge on our ability to listen to, center, and respect those very communities. Embrace Advocacy that Benefits All The health of our communities is intrinsically connected to the health of the environments they live in. Advocating for policies that protect environmental and human health is a non-partisan stance for public health agencies. All community members benefit from climate-related policies that safeguard clean air, water, and greenspaces, among other environmental concerns. Therefore, it is within the mission and scope of health departments to support policies that protect their communities from the devastation of climate change. How public health agencies choose to advocate for and enact climate solutions will differ across jurisdictions, but there are many ways for them to lead by example. Civic engagement encompasses a broad range of activities that can positively impact the community and broader society and provide health benefits for individual participants. Adopting internal sustainability guidelines, drafting climate action plans, and directing people to local adaptation resources are just a few options for public health agencies to be climate advocates without crossing partisan lines. By championing environmentally conscious policies and practices, health departments are inspiring the communities they serve and providing tangible pathways for people to get involved in the larger climate movement. Forge Partnerships Across Sectors It takes a wide range of individuals and organizations working together to address climate change. Public health has a unique ability to bring groups of people together around a common issue. We necessarily work with communities of faith, higher education institutions, and non-profit organizations, among other stakeholders, to achieve our goals. Over the last 5 years responding to multiple crises, that strength has been tested, and we have learned many lessons. We’ve had to stretch ourselves and our imaginations to meet multiple moments while building critical infrastructure and strengthening our critical partnerships. An example of this diversity in cooperation is our agency’s ongoing partnership with the New York City Preparedness and Recovery Institute (PRI). Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, PRI serves as an innovator, connector, and facilitator for agencies, organizations, and communities in efforts to prepare New York City residents for and help them respond to public health threats. Our collaboration on the “Resilient Futures: Climate & Health Justice in NYC” webinar series is the latest example of how cross-sector collaboration can create space for generative discourse around the greater impacts of climate change. Across the globe, public health practice will be increasingly called to respond to intersecting social, political, economic and environmental challenges that negatively impact health. Climate change is a global emergency with far-reaching consequences. Although the scale of the crisis may feel insurmountable, this is not a moment for despair. Communities are already bringing their unique skills, knowledge, and strengths to the climate resistance movement, and they can be even more successful with the backing and support of their local public health agencies. The utility of community-driven action and the powerful applications of equity have been well established. Today’s challenges present opportunities for tomorrow. We have the opportunity to rally and use the best tools and frameworks of our discipline to answer the call and join the broad-based coalitions that are already organizing themselves around climate change.