Step 4- Unleash political courage: Commit to climate restoration

Millions marched.

Now trillions are being reallocated to a UN-backed “responsible banking” pledge that will fight climate change by shifting investments away from fossil fuels.

UN Secretary General António Guterres told us at the Climate Summit in New York this week that these are not unrelated events.

“Recent action by some countries and businesses, as well as the stunning rise of the youth climate movement, gave him hope that international goals to avoid catastrophic global heating could be met,” The Guardian reported.

This is how you turn a march into a movement. Even Politico is paying attention. In its “UN Climate Summit Playbook” of Sept 23, it tabbed the Foundation for Climate Restoration’s White Paper as a BIG IDEA for change. As a Senior Policy Advisor for this effort, I couldn’t be more pleased with the traction we’re getting.

Simply put, the world is listening.

Candidates lagging

Well, most of it is anyway. Guterres noted the absence of support from the U.S., China, Australia and Brazil, countries with a long history as part of the problem, not the solution. Which is exactly why we are building a movement right here in the United States leading up to the election in 2020. Because, for all the talk about this climate emergency, our country’s leaders are not doing nearly enough. The status quo is no longer acceptable.

Take a look:

Guterres told us that the world is not on track to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or the Paris climate agreement; If we maintain our current pace we will only be halfway there by 2030. Halfway during a global climate emergency is not good enough.

So why aren’t more candidates on board? Because political will has long taken precedence over political strides, and even with ambitious ideas from many of the Democratic candidates, fear over the politics of Climate Restoration remains a serious obstacle.

“Only three of the top ten candidates — Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Andrew Yang — are explicitly calling to invest in technology (to remove carbon from the atmosphere), despite the fact that many experts believe limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) depends on it,” said a report by The Grist.

This represents a serious obstacle to the United States full-scale engagement in Climate Restoration that is absolutely essential.

Courage over fear

Fear has long held back politicians. There is nothing new there. But how do we push them past the fear? We insist. This is step 4 of our roadmap from a march to movement.

STEP 4: Unleash Political Courage.

In case you missed them, here are the first three steps:

STEP 1: Forge systemic change:

STEP 2: Demand More:

STEP 3: Consolidate our Focus:

Politicians may not do as much as we’d expect or like, but they do listen. They are hearing us now. They saw us out in the streets. They are seeing how young people all over the country are engaged and insistent.

That’s why we must Build a Movement 2020. We must be large enough and loud enough to break the political fear against Climate Restoration and ensure proper legislation is enacted. Our BIG IDEA must become a plan of action.

Let’s take our march online today. Here are two simple steps you can do to help break the political fear.

Write every candidate for president from both parties and insist they support Climate Restoration.
Share this post on your social networks and invite everyone you know to text BAM2020 to 52866 and join this movement.

Let’s break the fear and push to solutions. Humanity depends on it.