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#localaction — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #localaction, aggregated by home.social.

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  1. #Oregon - Top tips for #gardeners to help fight #ClimateChange

    Brooke Edmunds
    Published September 2021, Reviewed 2025

    "As Oregon gardeners have noticed, our climate is changing. This is primarily due to human activities releasing excessive greenhouse gases into the atmosphere over the last 150 years. As a result, we’re seeing temperatures increasing, periods of #drought expanding, and we are experiencing more #SevereWeatherEvents than ever before. These changes have serious effects on our entire lives, including our #gardens.

    "Along with modifying what you plant in your garden as a reaction to these changing weather patterns, there are steps you can take to help slow the pace of climate change. Below are a few practical ideas to learn more, get involved and take action right in your own garden.
    Learn more about climate change and get connected with your community

    "Get up to date with the how and why of climate change on the United Nations’ Climate Action website. Get connected with others in your community: Join a local climate organizing group or talk to your neighbors about starting one. Check with your city or county government about how it is addressing climate change and get involved with local initiatives.

    Do more with less

    "Need a garden tool for an occasional task? Here are a few ideas to avoid buying one-time use equipment:

    "Check secondhand home improvement and thrift stores before buying new. Ask your local library to start a #LibraryOfThings and include garden tools. Or consider starting your own neighborhood tool-lending library. Also, look online and join your local sharing community (the #BuyNothing and #Freecycle networks are two examples).

    Reduce the amount of single-use plastics that you use in the garden.

    "If you purchase transplants, look for seedlings grown in biodegradable containers rather than plastic. If you start your own seeds, reuse plastic pots and seedling trays from last year rather than buying new or try making your own pots from newspaper. (Make sure to clean recycled plastic pots well to remove clinging soil and start with fresh containers if disease was present to avoid spreading.)

    "Disposable plastic greenhouse sheeting (used for season extension or hoop house coverings) usually has a life span of three to five years. Switch out for a long-lasting material like #RecycledWindows or polycarbonate panels. Check with your local nursery to see if it recycles plastic pots. Some nurseries offer incentives for returning plastic pots.

    Recycle your #FoodWaste into #compost

    "Keep kitchen scraps and yard trimmings out of landfills with composting. No yard for a large compost pile? No problem! Look into starting a composting worm bin or check with your trash service to see if kitchen scraps can be included in your yard waste bin."

    Learn more:
    extension.oregonstate.edu/cata

    #SolarPunkSunday #ClimateChangeGardening #ClimateChangeAdaptation #OSUExtension #OSU #LocalAction #Resiliency #Composting #ToolLibraries

  2. #Oregon - Top tips for #gardeners to help fight #ClimateChange

    Brooke Edmunds
    Published September 2021, Reviewed 2025

    "As Oregon gardeners have noticed, our climate is changing. This is primarily due to human activities releasing excessive greenhouse gases into the atmosphere over the last 150 years. As a result, we’re seeing temperatures increasing, periods of #drought expanding, and we are experiencing more #SevereWeatherEvents than ever before. These changes have serious effects on our entire lives, including our #gardens.

    "Along with modifying what you plant in your garden as a reaction to these changing weather patterns, there are steps you can take to help slow the pace of climate change. Below are a few practical ideas to learn more, get involved and take action right in your own garden.
    Learn more about climate change and get connected with your community

    "Get up to date with the how and why of climate change on the United Nations’ Climate Action website. Get connected with others in your community: Join a local climate organizing group or talk to your neighbors about starting one. Check with your city or county government about how it is addressing climate change and get involved with local initiatives.

    Do more with less

    "Need a garden tool for an occasional task? Here are a few ideas to avoid buying one-time use equipment:

    "Check secondhand home improvement and thrift stores before buying new. Ask your local library to start a #LibraryOfThings and include garden tools. Or consider starting your own neighborhood tool-lending library. Also, look online and join your local sharing community (the #BuyNothing and #Freecycle networks are two examples).

    Reduce the amount of single-use plastics that you use in the garden.

    "If you purchase transplants, look for seedlings grown in biodegradable containers rather than plastic. If you start your own seeds, reuse plastic pots and seedling trays from last year rather than buying new or try making your own pots from newspaper. (Make sure to clean recycled plastic pots well to remove clinging soil and start with fresh containers if disease was present to avoid spreading.)

    "Disposable plastic greenhouse sheeting (used for season extension or hoop house coverings) usually has a life span of three to five years. Switch out for a long-lasting material like #RecycledWindows or polycarbonate panels. Check with your local nursery to see if it recycles plastic pots. Some nurseries offer incentives for returning plastic pots.

    Recycle your #FoodWaste into #compost

    "Keep kitchen scraps and yard trimmings out of landfills with composting. No yard for a large compost pile? No problem! Look into starting a composting worm bin or check with your trash service to see if kitchen scraps can be included in your yard waste bin."

    Learn more:
    extension.oregonstate.edu/cata

    #SolarPunkSunday #ClimateChangeGardening #ClimateChangeAdaptation #OSUExtension #OSU #LocalAction #Resiliency #Composting #ToolLibraries

  3. #Oregon - Top tips for #gardeners to help fight #ClimateChange

    Brooke Edmunds
    Published September 2021, Reviewed 2025

    "As Oregon gardeners have noticed, our climate is changing. This is primarily due to human activities releasing excessive greenhouse gases into the atmosphere over the last 150 years. As a result, we’re seeing temperatures increasing, periods of #drought expanding, and we are experiencing more #SevereWeatherEvents than ever before. These changes have serious effects on our entire lives, including our #gardens.

    "Along with modifying what you plant in your garden as a reaction to these changing weather patterns, there are steps you can take to help slow the pace of climate change. Below are a few practical ideas to learn more, get involved and take action right in your own garden.
    Learn more about climate change and get connected with your community

    "Get up to date with the how and why of climate change on the United Nations’ Climate Action website. Get connected with others in your community: Join a local climate organizing group or talk to your neighbors about starting one. Check with your city or county government about how it is addressing climate change and get involved with local initiatives.

    Do more with less

    "Need a garden tool for an occasional task? Here are a few ideas to avoid buying one-time use equipment:

    "Check secondhand home improvement and thrift stores before buying new. Ask your local library to start a #LibraryOfThings and include garden tools. Or consider starting your own neighborhood tool-lending library. Also, look online and join your local sharing community (the #BuyNothing and #Freecycle networks are two examples).

    Reduce the amount of single-use plastics that you use in the garden.

    "If you purchase transplants, look for seedlings grown in biodegradable containers rather than plastic. If you start your own seeds, reuse plastic pots and seedling trays from last year rather than buying new or try making your own pots from newspaper. (Make sure to clean recycled plastic pots well to remove clinging soil and start with fresh containers if disease was present to avoid spreading.)

    "Disposable plastic greenhouse sheeting (used for season extension or hoop house coverings) usually has a life span of three to five years. Switch out for a long-lasting material like #RecycledWindows or polycarbonate panels. Check with your local nursery to see if it recycles plastic pots. Some nurseries offer incentives for returning plastic pots.

    Recycle your #FoodWaste into #compost

    "Keep kitchen scraps and yard trimmings out of landfills with composting. No yard for a large compost pile? No problem! Look into starting a composting worm bin or check with your trash service to see if kitchen scraps can be included in your yard waste bin."

    Learn more:
    extension.oregonstate.edu/cata

    #SolarPunkSunday #ClimateChangeGardening #ClimateChangeAdaptation #OSUExtension #OSU #LocalAction #Resiliency #Composting #ToolLibraries

  4. #Oregon - Top tips for #gardeners to help fight #ClimateChange

    Brooke Edmunds
    Published September 2021, Reviewed 2025

    "As Oregon gardeners have noticed, our climate is changing. This is primarily due to human activities releasing excessive greenhouse gases into the atmosphere over the last 150 years. As a result, we’re seeing temperatures increasing, periods of #drought expanding, and we are experiencing more #SevereWeatherEvents than ever before. These changes have serious effects on our entire lives, including our #gardens.

    "Along with modifying what you plant in your garden as a reaction to these changing weather patterns, there are steps you can take to help slow the pace of climate change. Below are a few practical ideas to learn more, get involved and take action right in your own garden.
    Learn more about climate change and get connected with your community

    "Get up to date with the how and why of climate change on the United Nations’ Climate Action website. Get connected with others in your community: Join a local climate organizing group or talk to your neighbors about starting one. Check with your city or county government about how it is addressing climate change and get involved with local initiatives.

    Do more with less

    "Need a garden tool for an occasional task? Here are a few ideas to avoid buying one-time use equipment:

    "Check secondhand home improvement and thrift stores before buying new. Ask your local library to start a #LibraryOfThings and include garden tools. Or consider starting your own neighborhood tool-lending library. Also, look online and join your local sharing community (the #BuyNothing and #Freecycle networks are two examples).

    Reduce the amount of single-use plastics that you use in the garden.

    "If you purchase transplants, look for seedlings grown in biodegradable containers rather than plastic. If you start your own seeds, reuse plastic pots and seedling trays from last year rather than buying new or try making your own pots from newspaper. (Make sure to clean recycled plastic pots well to remove clinging soil and start with fresh containers if disease was present to avoid spreading.)

    "Disposable plastic greenhouse sheeting (used for season extension or hoop house coverings) usually has a life span of three to five years. Switch out for a long-lasting material like #RecycledWindows or polycarbonate panels. Check with your local nursery to see if it recycles plastic pots. Some nurseries offer incentives for returning plastic pots.

    Recycle your #FoodWaste into #compost

    "Keep kitchen scraps and yard trimmings out of landfills with composting. No yard for a large compost pile? No problem! Look into starting a composting worm bin or check with your trash service to see if kitchen scraps can be included in your yard waste bin."

    Learn more:
    extension.oregonstate.edu/cata

    #SolarPunkSunday #ClimateChangeGardening #ClimateChangeAdaptation #OSUExtension #OSU #LocalAction #Resiliency #Composting #ToolLibraries

  5. #Oregon - Top tips for #gardeners to help fight #ClimateChange

    Brooke Edmunds
    Published September 2021, Reviewed 2025

    "As Oregon gardeners have noticed, our climate is changing. This is primarily due to human activities releasing excessive greenhouse gases into the atmosphere over the last 150 years. As a result, we’re seeing temperatures increasing, periods of #drought expanding, and we are experiencing more #SevereWeatherEvents than ever before. These changes have serious effects on our entire lives, including our #gardens.

    "Along with modifying what you plant in your garden as a reaction to these changing weather patterns, there are steps you can take to help slow the pace of climate change. Below are a few practical ideas to learn more, get involved and take action right in your own garden.
    Learn more about climate change and get connected with your community

    "Get up to date with the how and why of climate change on the United Nations’ Climate Action website. Get connected with others in your community: Join a local climate organizing group or talk to your neighbors about starting one. Check with your city or county government about how it is addressing climate change and get involved with local initiatives.

    Do more with less

    "Need a garden tool for an occasional task? Here are a few ideas to avoid buying one-time use equipment:

    "Check secondhand home improvement and thrift stores before buying new. Ask your local library to start a #LibraryOfThings and include garden tools. Or consider starting your own neighborhood tool-lending library. Also, look online and join your local sharing community (the #BuyNothing and #Freecycle networks are two examples).

    Reduce the amount of single-use plastics that you use in the garden.

    "If you purchase transplants, look for seedlings grown in biodegradable containers rather than plastic. If you start your own seeds, reuse plastic pots and seedling trays from last year rather than buying new or try making your own pots from newspaper. (Make sure to clean recycled plastic pots well to remove clinging soil and start with fresh containers if disease was present to avoid spreading.)

    "Disposable plastic greenhouse sheeting (used for season extension or hoop house coverings) usually has a life span of three to five years. Switch out for a long-lasting material like #RecycledWindows or polycarbonate panels. Check with your local nursery to see if it recycles plastic pots. Some nurseries offer incentives for returning plastic pots.

    Recycle your #FoodWaste into #compost

    "Keep kitchen scraps and yard trimmings out of landfills with composting. No yard for a large compost pile? No problem! Look into starting a composting worm bin or check with your trash service to see if kitchen scraps can be included in your yard waste bin."

    Learn more:
    extension.oregonstate.edu/cata

    #SolarPunkSunday #ClimateChangeGardening #ClimateChangeAdaptation #OSUExtension #OSU #LocalAction #Resiliency #Composting #ToolLibraries

  6. We have to understand that our society is under attack from the very people it was built to protect.

    People with money.

    A "Civil Society" has barely any protections against those with privilege.

    That means we must assume our institutional protections will fail if the situation is left alone.

    At the very least, we have to organize, go out into the streets and make clear that institutions, from media to courts, must reject the encroachment from lobbyists, owners, etc.

    That's the absolute best case scenario: Where the institutions want to do the right thing, and just need moral support to do it.

    Worst case scenarios would require much more from us.

    #Resistance #LocalAction #Solidarity

  7. We have to understand that our society is under attack from the very people it was built to protect.

    People with money.

    A "Civil Society" has barely any protections against those with privilege.

    That means we must assume our institutional protections will fail if the situation is left alone.

    At the very least, we have to organize, go out into the streets and make clear that institutions, from media to courts, must reject the encroachment from lobbyists, owners, etc.

    That's the absolute best case scenario: Where the institutions want to do the right thing, and just need moral support to do it.

    Worst case scenarios would require much more from us.

    #Resistance #LocalAction #Solidarity

  8. We have to understand that our society is under attack from the very people it was built to protect.

    People with money.

    A "Civil Society" has barely any protections against those with privilege.

    That means we must assume our institutional protections will fail if the situation is left alone.

    At the very least, we have to organize, go out into the streets and make clear that institutions, from media to courts, must reject the encroachment from lobbyists, owners, etc.

    That's the absolute best case scenario: Where the institutions want to do the right thing, and just need moral support to do it.

    Worst case scenarios would require much more from us.

    #Resistance #LocalAction #Solidarity

  9. We have to understand that our society is under attack from the very people it was built to protect.

    People with money.

    A "Civil Society" has barely any protections against those with privilege.

    That means we must assume our institutional protections will fail if the situation is left alone.

    At the very least, we have to organize, go out into the streets and make clear that institutions, from media to courts, must reject the encroachment from lobbyists, owners, etc.

    That's the absolute best case scenario: Where the institutions want to do the right thing, and just need moral support to do it.

    Worst case scenarios would require much more from us.

    #Resistance #LocalAction #Solidarity

  10. RT by @EESC_PRESS: Biodiversity loss threatens our health, food systems & economic resilience.

    On #BiodiversityDay, we are reminded that #EUCivilSociety is key to turning #LocalAction into real global impact.

    We must:
    🌱align financing & biodiversity goals;
    🌱strengthen the #OneHealth approach.
    ---
    nitter.net/EU_EESC/status/2057

  11. Biodiversity loss threatens our health, food systems & economic resilience.

    On #BiodiversityDay, we are reminded that #EUCivilSociety is key to turning #LocalAction into real global impact.

    We must:
    🌱align financing & biodiversity goals;
    🌱strengthen the #OneHealth approach.
    ---
    nitter.net/EU_EESC/status/2057

  12. Biodiversity loss threatens our health, food systems & economic resilience.

    On #BiodiversityDay, we are reminded that #EUCivilSociety is key to turning #LocalAction into real global impact.

    We must:
    🌱align financing & biodiversity goals;
    🌱strengthen the #OneHealth approach.
    ---
    nitter.net/EU_EESC/status/2057

  13. Attention #Illinois #USA people...
    This is awesome, it's not updated on the ILGA site yet but this bill passed committee and is going to the state house of reps to vote.
    You should call your IL statehouse rep and ask them to vote for SB3110 / HB4739 (Clean Air for Healthy Equitable Schools bill) and convince their colleagues to as well! This will help move towards making IL kids teachers and communities healthier. Once monitors are available it will increase awareness of the issue and open up the field to more parents, teachers, and students to have hard data to advocate for real change based upon.

    Senate bill:
    ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatu
    House bill: ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatu

    If you don't know who that is, find them here elections.il.gov/electionopera

    #LocalAction #CleanAir #COVIDisNotOver

  14. Attention #Illinois #USA people...
    This is awesome, it's not updated on the ILGA site yet but this bill passed committee and is going to the state house of reps to vote.
    You should call your IL statehouse rep and ask them to vote for SB3110 / HB4739 (Clean Air for Healthy Equitable Schools bill) and convince their colleagues to as well! This will help move towards making IL kids teachers and communities healthier. Once monitors are available it will increase awareness of the issue and open up the field to more parents, teachers, and students to have hard data to advocate for real change based upon.

    Senate bill:
    ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatu
    House bill: ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatu

    If you don't know who that is, find them here elections.il.gov/electionopera

    #LocalAction #CleanAir #COVIDisNotOver

  15. Attention #Illinois #USA people...
    This is awesome, it's not updated on the ILGA site yet but this bill passed committee and is going to the state house of reps to vote.
    You should call your IL statehouse rep and ask them to vote for SB3110 / HB4739 (Clean Air for Healthy Equitable Schools bill) and convince their colleagues to as well! This will help move towards making IL kids teachers and communities healthier. Once monitors are available it will increase awareness of the issue and open up the field to more parents, teachers, and students to have hard data to advocate for real change based upon.

    Senate bill:
    ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatu
    House bill: ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatu

    If you don't know who that is, find them here elections.il.gov/electionopera

    #LocalAction #CleanAir #COVIDisNotOver

  16. Attention #Illinois #USA people...
    This is awesome, it's not updated on the ILGA site yet but this bill passed committee and is going to the state house of reps to vote.
    You should call your IL statehouse rep and ask them to vote for SB3110 / HB4739 (Clean Air for Healthy Equitable Schools bill) and convince their colleagues to as well! This will help move towards making IL kids teachers and communities healthier. Once monitors are available it will increase awareness of the issue and open up the field to more parents, teachers, and students to have hard data to advocate for real change based upon.

    Senate bill:
    ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatu
    House bill: ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatu

    If you don't know who that is, find them here elections.il.gov/electionopera

    #LocalAction #CleanAir #COVIDisNotOver

  17. Attention #Illinois #USA people...
    This is awesome, it's not updated on the ILGA site yet but this bill passed committee and is going to the state house of reps to vote.
    You should call your IL statehouse rep and ask them to vote for SB3110 (Clean Air for Healthy Equitable Schools bill) and convince their colleagues to as well! This will help move towards making IL kids teachers and communities healthier. Once monitors are available it will increase awareness of the issue and open up the field to more parents, teachers, and students to have hard data to advocate for real change based upon.

    ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatu

    If you don't know who that is, find them here elections.il.gov/electionopera

    #LocalAction #CleanAir #COVIDisNotOver

  18. There's a community clean-up event happening this Saturday at the local park in my city - Irkutsk, Russia. I'm planning to go and would love to see some familiar faces there! Let's come together to make our community a cleaner and greener place. 🌳🗑️

  19. London artist FAUZIA returns with first solo music in four years. "The Way" on Local Action features jungle rinse-out plus half-time B-side. Has worked with Tirzah, Kelela, Duval Timothy. #Fauzia #BestNewMusic2025 #Week48 #LocalAction
    go.stereobar.net/4xetkr0

  20. London artist FAUZIA returns with first solo music in four years. "The Way" on Local Action features jungle rinse-out plus half-time B-side. Has worked with Tirzah, Kelela, Duval Timothy. #Fauzia #BestNewMusic2025 #Week48 #LocalAction
    go.stereobar.net/4xetkr0

  21. Why cities around the world are uniting to keep cool

    A new global initiative is helping cities from #PhoenixAZ to #QuezonCity address #ExtremeHeat with #SharedSolutions and #LocalAction.

    From the #C40 website: "Cities are focusing on increasing green cover, cool roofs, and shaded public areas in places that experience the most heat and the least access to adequate cooling."

    Nov 05, 2025

    "The following is a sponsored op-ed written by Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona and Joy Belmonte, Mayor of Quezon City, the #Philippines and sponsored by C40 Cities.

    This summer, cities around the world broke temperature records once again. The results were devastating: Extreme heat now kills nearly half a million people each year, and the danger keeps rising. By 2050, the number of people in cities exposed to life-threatening heat is expected to increase fivefold.

    From the desert of Phoenix in the United States to the humid streets of Quezon City in the Philippines, mayors are facing the same new reality: Heat is here to stay, and it is impacting every element of city life. That’s why we — along with more than 30 other mayors from C40 Cities, a global network of nearly 100 of the world’s biggest cities tackling the #ClimateEmergency — are joining forces to protect our people today and prepare our communities for a hotter tomorrow. Through the new C40 #CoolCities Accelerator, we’ll work together to speed up bold and inclusive #ClimateAction that meets the urgency of this growing threat.

    In some ways, our cities couldn’t be more different. Phoenix, America’s fifth largest city, sits in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, and sees more than 300 days of sunshine a year. Quezon City, the most populous city in the Philippines, faces sweltering humidity and the annual risk of typhoons. Yet both cities are on the front lines of rising temperatures that threaten health, strain our power grids, and deepen inequality.

    Extreme heat is the deadliest climate hazard, but it’s also the quietest. It kills through heatstroke and dehydration, and by worsening heart and respiratory conditions. It’s often felt most by the people with the fewest resources to cope: older adults, children, outdoor workers, and low-income communities. In Phoenix, residents in low-income neighbourhoods can experience temperatures several degrees higher than in wealthier parts of the city. In Quezon City, densely populated neighborhoods can become dangerous heat traps.

    We refuse to accept a future in which a heatwave becomes a death sentence for those with the least, and whose responsibility for the climate crisis is disproportionately small. The Cool Cities Accelerator is our shared plan to prevent that. In line with COP30’s call for a ‘decade of delivery,’ this provides a practical framework for mayors to act boldly and share what works.

    First, we’re protecting lives right now. Participating cities are appointing heat leaders, improving early-warning systems, and coordinating emergency responses across agencies. Phoenix, for example, created the US’s first publicly-funded Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, expanded access to chilled water stations, and opened cooling and hydration stations, including overnight cooling center options to bring relief where it’s needed most. Meanwhile, Quezon City is currently mapping heat-vulnerable communities and developing a citywide heat-health action plan. It has already adjusted work hours for outdoor workers, and introduced heat-tolerant crops across more than 1,400 urban farms.

    The goal is to build long-term resilience. Within five years, cities in the Accelerator will integrate cooling into building codes, redesign streets for shade and airflow, and expand tree canopies and green corridors. Phoenix is piloting reflective ‘cool pavements’, planting thousands of trees, and building artistic shade structures and setting regional standards for heat-ready infrastructure. Quezon City is restoring parks and greening schools and public spaces. As part of these efforts, the city has supported local groups turning vacant lots into small forests and gardens, while encouraging private development to adopt greener designs under its Green Building Ordinance. These efforts save lives, and cut energy bills while improving neighbourhoods.

    But urban heat doesn’t stop at city limits, and neither should our solutions. That’s why collaboration is at the heart of the Cool Cities Accelerator. Thirty-two cities — from Austin to Athens and Singapore to Santiago — are now exchanging data and design ideas. The details on the ground obviously differ, but the solutions we craft together are remarkably similar, creating more shade, better design, and better care for the most vulnerable. When our teams share lessons on early-warning systems, or how to engage with our communities, we all move faster and more effectively.

    For too long, extreme heat has been under-measured and under-estimated. We can build cities that are not only cooler, but more fair. But to do so, we must act together, and we must act now. We need to deliver solutions that both keep people alive today, and allow future generations to thrive."

    Source:
    grist.org/sponsored/why-cities

    More info about #C40:
    c40.org/accelerators/cool-citi

    #SolarPunkSunday #ExtremeHeat #Resiliency #Cooling #Greenspace #GreenBuilding #GreenCorridors #HardeningInfrastructure #ClimateChange

  22. Why cities around the world are uniting to keep cool

    A new global initiative is helping cities from #PhoenixAZ to #QuezonCity address #ExtremeHeat with #SharedSolutions and #LocalAction.

    From the #C40 website: "Cities are focusing on increasing green cover, cool roofs, and shaded public areas in places that experience the most heat and the least access to adequate cooling."

    Nov 05, 2025

    "The following is a sponsored op-ed written by Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona and Joy Belmonte, Mayor of Quezon City, the #Philippines and sponsored by C40 Cities.

    This summer, cities around the world broke temperature records once again. The results were devastating: Extreme heat now kills nearly half a million people each year, and the danger keeps rising. By 2050, the number of people in cities exposed to life-threatening heat is expected to increase fivefold.

    From the desert of Phoenix in the United States to the humid streets of Quezon City in the Philippines, mayors are facing the same new reality: Heat is here to stay, and it is impacting every element of city life. That’s why we — along with more than 30 other mayors from C40 Cities, a global network of nearly 100 of the world’s biggest cities tackling the #ClimateEmergency — are joining forces to protect our people today and prepare our communities for a hotter tomorrow. Through the new C40 #CoolCities Accelerator, we’ll work together to speed up bold and inclusive #ClimateAction that meets the urgency of this growing threat.

    In some ways, our cities couldn’t be more different. Phoenix, America’s fifth largest city, sits in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, and sees more than 300 days of sunshine a year. Quezon City, the most populous city in the Philippines, faces sweltering humidity and the annual risk of typhoons. Yet both cities are on the front lines of rising temperatures that threaten health, strain our power grids, and deepen inequality.

    Extreme heat is the deadliest climate hazard, but it’s also the quietest. It kills through heatstroke and dehydration, and by worsening heart and respiratory conditions. It’s often felt most by the people with the fewest resources to cope: older adults, children, outdoor workers, and low-income communities. In Phoenix, residents in low-income neighbourhoods can experience temperatures several degrees higher than in wealthier parts of the city. In Quezon City, densely populated neighborhoods can become dangerous heat traps.

    We refuse to accept a future in which a heatwave becomes a death sentence for those with the least, and whose responsibility for the climate crisis is disproportionately small. The Cool Cities Accelerator is our shared plan to prevent that. In line with COP30’s call for a ‘decade of delivery,’ this provides a practical framework for mayors to act boldly and share what works.

    First, we’re protecting lives right now. Participating cities are appointing heat leaders, improving early-warning systems, and coordinating emergency responses across agencies. Phoenix, for example, created the US’s first publicly-funded Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, expanded access to chilled water stations, and opened cooling and hydration stations, including overnight cooling center options to bring relief where it’s needed most. Meanwhile, Quezon City is currently mapping heat-vulnerable communities and developing a citywide heat-health action plan. It has already adjusted work hours for outdoor workers, and introduced heat-tolerant crops across more than 1,400 urban farms.

    The goal is to build long-term resilience. Within five years, cities in the Accelerator will integrate cooling into building codes, redesign streets for shade and airflow, and expand tree canopies and green corridors. Phoenix is piloting reflective ‘cool pavements’, planting thousands of trees, and building artistic shade structures and setting regional standards for heat-ready infrastructure. Quezon City is restoring parks and greening schools and public spaces. As part of these efforts, the city has supported local groups turning vacant lots into small forests and gardens, while encouraging private development to adopt greener designs under its Green Building Ordinance. These efforts save lives, and cut energy bills while improving neighbourhoods.

    But urban heat doesn’t stop at city limits, and neither should our solutions. That’s why collaboration is at the heart of the Cool Cities Accelerator. Thirty-two cities — from Austin to Athens and Singapore to Santiago — are now exchanging data and design ideas. The details on the ground obviously differ, but the solutions we craft together are remarkably similar, creating more shade, better design, and better care for the most vulnerable. When our teams share lessons on early-warning systems, or how to engage with our communities, we all move faster and more effectively.

    For too long, extreme heat has been under-measured and under-estimated. We can build cities that are not only cooler, but more fair. But to do so, we must act together, and we must act now. We need to deliver solutions that both keep people alive today, and allow future generations to thrive."

    Source:
    grist.org/sponsored/why-cities

    More info about #C40:
    c40.org/accelerators/cool-citi

    #SolarPunkSunday #ExtremeHeat #Resiliency #Cooling #Greenspace #GreenBuilding #GreenCorridors #HardeningInfrastructure #ClimateChange

  23. Why cities around the world are uniting to keep cool

    A new global initiative is helping cities from #PhoenixAZ to #QuezonCity address #ExtremeHeat with #SharedSolutions and #LocalAction.

    From the #C40 website: "Cities are focusing on increasing green cover, cool roofs, and shaded public areas in places that experience the most heat and the least access to adequate cooling."

    Nov 05, 2025

    "The following is a sponsored op-ed written by Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona and Joy Belmonte, Mayor of Quezon City, the #Philippines and sponsored by C40 Cities.

    This summer, cities around the world broke temperature records once again. The results were devastating: Extreme heat now kills nearly half a million people each year, and the danger keeps rising. By 2050, the number of people in cities exposed to life-threatening heat is expected to increase fivefold.

    From the desert of Phoenix in the United States to the humid streets of Quezon City in the Philippines, mayors are facing the same new reality: Heat is here to stay, and it is impacting every element of city life. That’s why we — along with more than 30 other mayors from C40 Cities, a global network of nearly 100 of the world’s biggest cities tackling the #ClimateEmergency — are joining forces to protect our people today and prepare our communities for a hotter tomorrow. Through the new C40 #CoolCities Accelerator, we’ll work together to speed up bold and inclusive #ClimateAction that meets the urgency of this growing threat.

    In some ways, our cities couldn’t be more different. Phoenix, America’s fifth largest city, sits in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, and sees more than 300 days of sunshine a year. Quezon City, the most populous city in the Philippines, faces sweltering humidity and the annual risk of typhoons. Yet both cities are on the front lines of rising temperatures that threaten health, strain our power grids, and deepen inequality.

    Extreme heat is the deadliest climate hazard, but it’s also the quietest. It kills through heatstroke and dehydration, and by worsening heart and respiratory conditions. It’s often felt most by the people with the fewest resources to cope: older adults, children, outdoor workers, and low-income communities. In Phoenix, residents in low-income neighbourhoods can experience temperatures several degrees higher than in wealthier parts of the city. In Quezon City, densely populated neighborhoods can become dangerous heat traps.

    We refuse to accept a future in which a heatwave becomes a death sentence for those with the least, and whose responsibility for the climate crisis is disproportionately small. The Cool Cities Accelerator is our shared plan to prevent that. In line with COP30’s call for a ‘decade of delivery,’ this provides a practical framework for mayors to act boldly and share what works.

    First, we’re protecting lives right now. Participating cities are appointing heat leaders, improving early-warning systems, and coordinating emergency responses across agencies. Phoenix, for example, created the US’s first publicly-funded Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, expanded access to chilled water stations, and opened cooling and hydration stations, including overnight cooling center options to bring relief where it’s needed most. Meanwhile, Quezon City is currently mapping heat-vulnerable communities and developing a citywide heat-health action plan. It has already adjusted work hours for outdoor workers, and introduced heat-tolerant crops across more than 1,400 urban farms.

    The goal is to build long-term resilience. Within five years, cities in the Accelerator will integrate cooling into building codes, redesign streets for shade and airflow, and expand tree canopies and green corridors. Phoenix is piloting reflective ‘cool pavements’, planting thousands of trees, and building artistic shade structures and setting regional standards for heat-ready infrastructure. Quezon City is restoring parks and greening schools and public spaces. As part of these efforts, the city has supported local groups turning vacant lots into small forests and gardens, while encouraging private development to adopt greener designs under its Green Building Ordinance. These efforts save lives, and cut energy bills while improving neighbourhoods.

    But urban heat doesn’t stop at city limits, and neither should our solutions. That’s why collaboration is at the heart of the Cool Cities Accelerator. Thirty-two cities — from Austin to Athens and Singapore to Santiago — are now exchanging data and design ideas. The details on the ground obviously differ, but the solutions we craft together are remarkably similar, creating more shade, better design, and better care for the most vulnerable. When our teams share lessons on early-warning systems, or how to engage with our communities, we all move faster and more effectively.

    For too long, extreme heat has been under-measured and under-estimated. We can build cities that are not only cooler, but more fair. But to do so, we must act together, and we must act now. We need to deliver solutions that both keep people alive today, and allow future generations to thrive."

    Source:
    grist.org/sponsored/why-cities

    More info about #C40:
    c40.org/accelerators/cool-citi

    #SolarPunkSunday #ExtremeHeat #Resiliency #Cooling #Greenspace #GreenBuilding #GreenCorridors #HardeningInfrastructure #ClimateChange

  24. Why cities around the world are uniting to keep cool

    A new global initiative is helping cities from #PhoenixAZ to #QuezonCity address #ExtremeHeat with #SharedSolutions and #LocalAction.

    From the #C40 website: "Cities are focusing on increasing green cover, cool roofs, and shaded public areas in places that experience the most heat and the least access to adequate cooling."

    Nov 05, 2025

    "The following is a sponsored op-ed written by Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona and Joy Belmonte, Mayor of Quezon City, the #Philippines and sponsored by C40 Cities.

    This summer, cities around the world broke temperature records once again. The results were devastating: Extreme heat now kills nearly half a million people each year, and the danger keeps rising. By 2050, the number of people in cities exposed to life-threatening heat is expected to increase fivefold.

    From the desert of Phoenix in the United States to the humid streets of Quezon City in the Philippines, mayors are facing the same new reality: Heat is here to stay, and it is impacting every element of city life. That’s why we — along with more than 30 other mayors from C40 Cities, a global network of nearly 100 of the world’s biggest cities tackling the #ClimateEmergency — are joining forces to protect our people today and prepare our communities for a hotter tomorrow. Through the new C40 #CoolCities Accelerator, we’ll work together to speed up bold and inclusive #ClimateAction that meets the urgency of this growing threat.

    In some ways, our cities couldn’t be more different. Phoenix, America’s fifth largest city, sits in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, and sees more than 300 days of sunshine a year. Quezon City, the most populous city in the Philippines, faces sweltering humidity and the annual risk of typhoons. Yet both cities are on the front lines of rising temperatures that threaten health, strain our power grids, and deepen inequality.

    Extreme heat is the deadliest climate hazard, but it’s also the quietest. It kills through heatstroke and dehydration, and by worsening heart and respiratory conditions. It’s often felt most by the people with the fewest resources to cope: older adults, children, outdoor workers, and low-income communities. In Phoenix, residents in low-income neighbourhoods can experience temperatures several degrees higher than in wealthier parts of the city. In Quezon City, densely populated neighborhoods can become dangerous heat traps.

    We refuse to accept a future in which a heatwave becomes a death sentence for those with the least, and whose responsibility for the climate crisis is disproportionately small. The Cool Cities Accelerator is our shared plan to prevent that. In line with COP30’s call for a ‘decade of delivery,’ this provides a practical framework for mayors to act boldly and share what works.

    First, we’re protecting lives right now. Participating cities are appointing heat leaders, improving early-warning systems, and coordinating emergency responses across agencies. Phoenix, for example, created the US’s first publicly-funded Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, expanded access to chilled water stations, and opened cooling and hydration stations, including overnight cooling center options to bring relief where it’s needed most. Meanwhile, Quezon City is currently mapping heat-vulnerable communities and developing a citywide heat-health action plan. It has already adjusted work hours for outdoor workers, and introduced heat-tolerant crops across more than 1,400 urban farms.

    The goal is to build long-term resilience. Within five years, cities in the Accelerator will integrate cooling into building codes, redesign streets for shade and airflow, and expand tree canopies and green corridors. Phoenix is piloting reflective ‘cool pavements’, planting thousands of trees, and building artistic shade structures and setting regional standards for heat-ready infrastructure. Quezon City is restoring parks and greening schools and public spaces. As part of these efforts, the city has supported local groups turning vacant lots into small forests and gardens, while encouraging private development to adopt greener designs under its Green Building Ordinance. These efforts save lives, and cut energy bills while improving neighbourhoods.

    But urban heat doesn’t stop at city limits, and neither should our solutions. That’s why collaboration is at the heart of the Cool Cities Accelerator. Thirty-two cities — from Austin to Athens and Singapore to Santiago — are now exchanging data and design ideas. The details on the ground obviously differ, but the solutions we craft together are remarkably similar, creating more shade, better design, and better care for the most vulnerable. When our teams share lessons on early-warning systems, or how to engage with our communities, we all move faster and more effectively.

    For too long, extreme heat has been under-measured and under-estimated. We can build cities that are not only cooler, but more fair. But to do so, we must act together, and we must act now. We need to deliver solutions that both keep people alive today, and allow future generations to thrive."

    Source:
    grist.org/sponsored/why-cities

    More info about #C40:
    c40.org/accelerators/cool-citi

    #SolarPunkSunday #ExtremeHeat #Resiliency #Cooling #Greenspace #GreenBuilding #GreenCorridors #HardeningInfrastructure #ClimateChange

  25. Why cities around the world are uniting to keep cool

    A new global initiative is helping cities from #PhoenixAZ to #QuezonCity address #ExtremeHeat with #SharedSolutions and #LocalAction.

    From the #C40 website: "Cities are focusing on increasing green cover, cool roofs, and shaded public areas in places that experience the most heat and the least access to adequate cooling."

    Nov 05, 2025

    "The following is a sponsored op-ed written by Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona and Joy Belmonte, Mayor of Quezon City, the #Philippines and sponsored by C40 Cities.

    This summer, cities around the world broke temperature records once again. The results were devastating: Extreme heat now kills nearly half a million people each year, and the danger keeps rising. By 2050, the number of people in cities exposed to life-threatening heat is expected to increase fivefold.

    From the desert of Phoenix in the United States to the humid streets of Quezon City in the Philippines, mayors are facing the same new reality: Heat is here to stay, and it is impacting every element of city life. That’s why we — along with more than 30 other mayors from C40 Cities, a global network of nearly 100 of the world’s biggest cities tackling the #ClimateEmergency — are joining forces to protect our people today and prepare our communities for a hotter tomorrow. Through the new C40 #CoolCities Accelerator, we’ll work together to speed up bold and inclusive #ClimateAction that meets the urgency of this growing threat.

    In some ways, our cities couldn’t be more different. Phoenix, America’s fifth largest city, sits in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, and sees more than 300 days of sunshine a year. Quezon City, the most populous city in the Philippines, faces sweltering humidity and the annual risk of typhoons. Yet both cities are on the front lines of rising temperatures that threaten health, strain our power grids, and deepen inequality.

    Extreme heat is the deadliest climate hazard, but it’s also the quietest. It kills through heatstroke and dehydration, and by worsening heart and respiratory conditions. It’s often felt most by the people with the fewest resources to cope: older adults, children, outdoor workers, and low-income communities. In Phoenix, residents in low-income neighbourhoods can experience temperatures several degrees higher than in wealthier parts of the city. In Quezon City, densely populated neighborhoods can become dangerous heat traps.

    We refuse to accept a future in which a heatwave becomes a death sentence for those with the least, and whose responsibility for the climate crisis is disproportionately small. The Cool Cities Accelerator is our shared plan to prevent that. In line with COP30’s call for a ‘decade of delivery,’ this provides a practical framework for mayors to act boldly and share what works.

    First, we’re protecting lives right now. Participating cities are appointing heat leaders, improving early-warning systems, and coordinating emergency responses across agencies. Phoenix, for example, created the US’s first publicly-funded Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, expanded access to chilled water stations, and opened cooling and hydration stations, including overnight cooling center options to bring relief where it’s needed most. Meanwhile, Quezon City is currently mapping heat-vulnerable communities and developing a citywide heat-health action plan. It has already adjusted work hours for outdoor workers, and introduced heat-tolerant crops across more than 1,400 urban farms.

    The goal is to build long-term resilience. Within five years, cities in the Accelerator will integrate cooling into building codes, redesign streets for shade and airflow, and expand tree canopies and green corridors. Phoenix is piloting reflective ‘cool pavements’, planting thousands of trees, and building artistic shade structures and setting regional standards for heat-ready infrastructure. Quezon City is restoring parks and greening schools and public spaces. As part of these efforts, the city has supported local groups turning vacant lots into small forests and gardens, while encouraging private development to adopt greener designs under its Green Building Ordinance. These efforts save lives, and cut energy bills while improving neighbourhoods.

    But urban heat doesn’t stop at city limits, and neither should our solutions. That’s why collaboration is at the heart of the Cool Cities Accelerator. Thirty-two cities — from Austin to Athens and Singapore to Santiago — are now exchanging data and design ideas. The details on the ground obviously differ, but the solutions we craft together are remarkably similar, creating more shade, better design, and better care for the most vulnerable. When our teams share lessons on early-warning systems, or how to engage with our communities, we all move faster and more effectively.

    For too long, extreme heat has been under-measured and under-estimated. We can build cities that are not only cooler, but more fair. But to do so, we must act together, and we must act now. We need to deliver solutions that both keep people alive today, and allow future generations to thrive."

    Source:
    grist.org/sponsored/why-cities

    More info about #C40:
    c40.org/accelerators/cool-citi

    #SolarPunkSunday #ExtremeHeat #Resiliency #Cooling #Greenspace #GreenBuilding #GreenCorridors #HardeningInfrastructure #ClimateChange

  26. Trailblazers update 🚶‍♀️🌿
    ✅ 21 volunteers
    ✅ 750m footpath cleared
    ✅ 40kg litter removed
    Footpath 38 & Miners Path now open and walkable!
    Pencoed’s looking better every month thanks to YOU 💪
    #PencoedTrailblazers #LocalAction #FootpathFriday

  27. Trailblazers update 🚶‍♀️🌿
    ✅ 21 volunteers
    ✅ 750m footpath cleared
    ✅ 40kg litter removed
    Footpath 38 & Miners Path now open and walkable!
    Pencoed’s looking better every month thanks to YOU 💪
    #PencoedTrailblazers #LocalAction #FootpathFriday

  28. Trailblazers update 🚶‍♀️🌿
    ✅ 21 volunteers
    ✅ 750m footpath cleared
    ✅ 40kg litter removed
    Footpath 38 & Miners Path now open and walkable!
    Pencoed’s looking better every month thanks to YOU 💪
    #PencoedTrailblazers #LocalAction #FootpathFriday

  29. Trailblazers update 🚶‍♀️🌿
    ✅ 21 volunteers
    ✅ 750m footpath cleared
    ✅ 40kg litter removed
    Footpath 38 & Miners Path now open and walkable!
    Pencoed’s looking better every month thanks to YOU 💪
    #PencoedTrailblazers #LocalAction #FootpathFriday

  30. Trailblazers update 🚶‍♀️🌿
    ✅ 21 volunteers
    ✅ 750m footpath cleared
    ✅ 40kg litter removed
    Footpath 38 & Miners Path now open and walkable!
    Pencoed’s looking better every month thanks to YOU 💪
    #PencoedTrailblazers #LocalAction #FootpathFriday

  31. The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) was established in 2015 to empower cities.

    With 13,700 local governments representing 1.2 billion people, cities are committing and acting on climate goals! #GCoM #LocalAction

  32. The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) was established in 2015 to empower cities.

    With 13,700 local governments representing 1.2 billion people, cities are committing and acting on climate goals! #GCoM #LocalAction

  33. The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) was established in 2015 to empower cities.

    With 13,700 local governments representing 1.2 billion people, cities are committing and acting on climate goals! #GCoM #LocalAction

  34. The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) was established in 2015 to empower cities.

    With 13,700 local governments representing 1.2 billion people, cities are committing and acting on climate goals!

  35. The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) was established in 2015 to empower cities.

    With 13,700 local governments representing 1.2 billion people, cities are committing and acting on climate goals! #GCoM #LocalAction

  36. Laura Solorio is among residents featured in #MontereyCountyWeekly July 3 cover story. "She was president of Protect Monterey County, the group that successfully got Measure Z passed in 2016. The countywide ban on fracking and the expansion of the oil and gas industry was largely unraveled in court, but she persisted…[which led to California] "AB 3233. The bill, signed into law in 2024, gives local city and county governments the ability to ban, limit or regulate oil and gas projects.”
    montereycountynow.com/news/cov

    bikemonterey.org/californias-l

    #ClimateAction #LocalAction #LocalControl #PowerToThePeople #OilAndGas #BigOil

  37. Laura Solorio is among residents featured in #MontereyCountyWeekly July 3 cover story. "She was president of Protect Monterey County, the group that successfully got Measure Z passed in 2016. The countywide ban on fracking and the expansion of the oil and gas industry was largely unraveled in court, but she persisted…[which led to California] "AB 3233. The bill, signed into law in 2024, gives local city and county governments the ability to ban, limit or regulate oil and gas projects.”
    montereycountynow.com/news/cov

    bikemonterey.org/californias-l

    #ClimateAction #LocalAction #LocalControl #PowerToThePeople #OilAndGas #BigOil

  38. Laura Solorio is among residents featured in #MontereyCountyWeekly July 3 cover story. "She was president of Protect Monterey County, the group that successfully got Measure Z passed in 2016. The countywide ban on fracking and the expansion of the oil and gas industry was largely unraveled in court, but she persisted…[which led to California] "AB 3233. The bill, signed into law in 2024, gives local city and county governments the ability to ban, limit or regulate oil and gas projects.”
    montereycountynow.com/news/cov

    bikemonterey.org/californias-l

    #ClimateAction #LocalAction #LocalControl #PowerToThePeople #OilAndGas #BigOil

  39. Laura Solorio is among residents featured in #MontereyCountyWeekly July 3 cover story. "She was president of Protect Monterey County, the group that successfully got Measure Z passed in 2016. The countywide ban on fracking and the expansion of the oil and gas industry was largely unraveled in court, but she persisted…[which led to California] "AB 3233. The bill, signed into law in 2024, gives local city and county governments the ability to ban, limit or regulate oil and gas projects.”
    montereycountynow.com/news/cov

    bikemonterey.org/californias-l

    #ClimateAction #LocalAction #LocalControl #PowerToThePeople #OilAndGas #BigOil

  40. Laura Solorio is among residents featured in #MontereyCountyWeekly July 3 cover story. "She was president of Protect Monterey County, the group that successfully got Measure Z passed in 2016. The countywide ban on fracking and the expansion of the oil and gas industry was largely unraveled in court, but she persisted…[which led to California] "AB 3233. The bill, signed into law in 2024, gives local city and county governments the ability to ban, limit or regulate oil and gas projects.”
    montereycountynow.com/news/cov

    bikemonterey.org/californias-l

    #ClimateAction #LocalAction #LocalControl #PowerToThePeople #OilAndGas #BigOil

  41. Community-led initiatives have shown success in driving climate action. Ignoring them in favor of top-down tech solutions misses the mark.

  42. Community-led initiatives have shown success in driving climate action. Ignoring them in favor of top-down tech solutions misses the mark. #LocalAction #SustainableCommunities

  43. Community-led initiatives have shown success in driving climate action. Ignoring them in favor of top-down tech solutions misses the mark. #LocalAction #SustainableCommunities

  44. Community-led initiatives have shown success in driving climate action. Ignoring them in favor of top-down tech solutions misses the mark. #LocalAction #SustainableCommunities

  45. Community-led initiatives have shown success in driving climate action. Ignoring them in favor of top-down tech solutions misses the mark. #LocalAction #SustainableCommunities

  46. Health at COP29: Workforce crisis meets climate crisis

    Health workers are already being transformed by climate change. COP29 stakeholders can either support this transformation to strengthen health systems, or risk watching the health workforce collapse under mounting pressures.

    The World Health Organization’s “COP29 Special Report on Climate Change and Health: Health is the Argument for Climate Action“ highlights the health sector’s role in climate action.

    Health professionals are eyewitnesses and first responders to climate impacts on people and communities firsthand – from escalating respiratory diseases to spreading infections and increasing humanitarian disasters.

    The report positions health workers as “trusted members of society” who are “uniquely positioned” to champion climate action.

    The context is stark: WHO projects a global shortage of 10 million health workers by 2030, with six million in climate-vulnerable sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, our communities and healthcare systems already bear the costs of climate change through increasing disease burdens and system strain.

    Health workers are responding, because they have to. Their daily engagement with climate-affected communities offers insights that can strengthen both health systems and climate response – if we learn to listen.

    A “fit-for-purpose” workforce requires rethinking learning and leadership

    WHO’s report acknowledges that “scale-up and increased investments are necessary to build a well-distributed, fit-for-purpose workforce that can meet accelerating needs, especially in already vulnerable settings.” The report emphasizes that “governments and partners must prioritize access to decent jobs, resources, and support to deliver high-quality, climate-resilient health services.” This includes ensuring “essential protective equipment, supplies, fair compensation, and safe working conditions such as adequate personnel numbers, skills mix, and supervisory capacity.”

    Resources, skills, and supervision are building blocks of every health system.

    They are necessary but likely to be insufficient.

    Such investments could be maximized through cost-effective, scalable peer learning networks that enable rapid knowledge sharing and solution development – as well as their locally-led implementation.

    The WHO report calls for “community-led initiatives that harness local knowledge and practices.”

    Our analyses – formed by listening to and learning from thousands of health professionals participating in the Teach to Reach peer learning platform – suggest that the expertise developed by health professionals through daily engagement with communities facing climate impacts is key to problem-solving, to implementing local solutions, and to ensure that communities are part and parcel of such solutions.

    Why move beyond seeing health workers as implementers of policies or recipients of training?

    We stand to gain much more if their leadership is recognized, nurtured, and supported.

    This is a notion of leadership that diverges from convention: if health workers have leadership potential, it is because they are uniquely positioned to turn what they know – because they are there every day – into action.

    Peer learning has the potential to significantly accelerate progress toward country and global goals for climate change and health.

    By making connections, a health professional expands the horizon of what they are able to know.

    At the Geneva Learning Foundation, we have seen that such leadership emerges when health workers are empowered to:

    • share and validate their experiential knowledge;
    • develop, test, and implement solutions with the communities they serve, using local resources;
    • connect with peers facing similar challenges; and
    • inform policy based on ground-level realities.

    Working with a global community of community-based health workers, we co-developed the Teach to Reach platform, community, and network to listen and learn at scale. Unlike traditional training programs, Teach to Reach creates a peer learning ecosystem where:

    • Health workers from over 70 countries connect directly to share experiences.
    • Solutions are crowdsourced from those closest to the challenges.
    • Knowledge flows horizontally rather than just vertically.
    • Local innovations are rapidly shared and adapted across contexts.

    For example, in June 2024, over 21,000 health professionals participated in Teach to Reach 10, generating hundreds of real-world stories and insights about climate change impacts on health.

    The platform has proven particularly valuable in fragile contexts and resource-limited settings, where traditional capacity building approaches often struggle to reach or engage health workers effectively.

    This approach does not replace formal institutions or traditional scientific methods – instead, it creates new pathways for knowledge to flow rapidly between communities, while building the collective capacity needed to respond to accelerating climate impacts on health.

    Already, this demonstrates the untapped potential for health workers to contribute to our collective understanding and response.

    But we do not stop there.

    As we count down to Teach to Reach 11, participants are now sharing how they have actually used and applied this peer knowledge to make progress against their local challenges.

    They cannot do it alone.

    This is why we ask global partners to join and contribute to this emergent, locally-led leadership for change.

    How different is this ‘ask’ from that of global partners asking health workers to contribute to the climate change and health agenda?

    WHO’s COP29 report makes a powerful case that “community-led initiatives that harness local knowledge and practices in both climate action and health strategies are fundamental for creating interventions that are both culturally appropriate and effective.”

    Furthermore, it recognizes that “these initiatives ensure that climate and health solutions are tailored to the specific needs and realities of those most impacted by climate change but also grounded in their lived realities.”

    What framework for collaboration?

    The path forward requires what the report describes as “cooperation across sectors, stakeholders and rights-holders – governmental institutions, local authorities, local leaders including religious authorities and traditional medicine practitioners, NGOs, businesses, the health community, Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities.”

    Our experience with Teach to Reach demonstrates how such cooperation can be facilitated at scale through digital platforms that enable peer learning and knowledge sharing. Key elements include:

    • a structured yet flexible framework for sharing experiences and insights;
    • direct connections between health workers at all levels of the system;
    • rapid feedback loops between local implementation and broader learning;
    • support for health workers to document and share their innovations; and
    • mechanisms to validate and spread effective local solutions.

    WHO’s recognition that health workers have “a moral, professional and public responsibility to protect and promote health, which includes advocating for climate action, leveraging prevention for climate mitigation and cost savings, and safeguarding healthy environments” sets a clear mandate.

    This WHO report highlights the need for new ways of supporting community-led learning and action to:

    1. support the rapid sharing of local solutions;
    2. build health worker capacity through peer learning;
    3. connect communities facing similar challenges; and
    4. enable health workers to lead change in their communities

    Reference

    Neira, M. et al. (2024) COP 29 Special Report on Climate Change and Health: Health is the Argument for Climate Action. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.

    Image: The Geneva Learning Foundation Collection © 2024

    Share this:

    #climateAction #climateAndHealth #COP29 #COP29SpecialReportOnClimateChangeAndHealthHealthIsTheArgumentForClimateAction #healthWorkers #HRH #leadership #localAction #MariaNeira #resilience #WorldHealthOrganization

  47. Health at COP29: Workforce crisis meets climate crisis

    Health workers are already being transformed by climate change. COP29 stakeholders can either support this transformation to strengthen health systems, or risk watching the health workforce collapse under mounting pressures.

    The World Health Organization’s “COP29 Special Report on Climate Change and Health: Health is the Argument for Climate Action“ highlights the health sector’s role in climate action.

    Health professionals are eyewitnesses and first responders to climate impacts on people and communities firsthand – from escalating respiratory diseases to spreading infections and increasing humanitarian disasters.

    The report positions health workers as “trusted members of society” who are “uniquely positioned” to champion climate action.

    The context is stark: WHO projects a global shortage of 10 million health workers by 2030, with six million in climate-vulnerable sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, our communities and healthcare systems already bear the costs of climate change through increasing disease burdens and system strain.

    Health workers are responding, because they have to. Their daily engagement with climate-affected communities offers insights that can strengthen both health systems and climate response – if we learn to listen.

    A “fit-for-purpose” workforce requires rethinking learning and leadership

    WHO’s report acknowledges that “scale-up and increased investments are necessary to build a well-distributed, fit-for-purpose workforce that can meet accelerating needs, especially in already vulnerable settings.” The report emphasizes that “governments and partners must prioritize access to decent jobs, resources, and support to deliver high-quality, climate-resilient health services.” This includes ensuring “essential protective equipment, supplies, fair compensation, and safe working conditions such as adequate personnel numbers, skills mix, and supervisory capacity.”

    Resources, skills, and supervision are building blocks of every health system.

    They are necessary but likely to be insufficient.

    Such investments could be maximized through cost-effective, scalable peer learning networks that enable rapid knowledge sharing and solution development – as well as their locally-led implementation.

    The WHO report calls for “community-led initiatives that harness local knowledge and practices.”

    Our analyses – formed by listening to and learning from thousands of health professionals participating in the Teach to Reach peer learning platform – suggest that the expertise developed by health professionals through daily engagement with communities facing climate impacts is key to problem-solving, to implementing local solutions, and to ensure that communities are part and parcel of such solutions.

    Why move beyond seeing health workers as implementers of policies or recipients of training?

    We stand to gain much more if their leadership is recognized, nurtured, and supported.

    This is a notion of leadership that diverges from convention: if health workers have leadership potential, it is because they are uniquely positioned to turn what they know – because they are there every day – into action.

    Peer learning has the potential to significantly accelerate progress toward country and global goals for climate change and health.

    By making connections, a health professional expands the horizon of what they are able to know.

    At the Geneva Learning Foundation, we have seen that such leadership emerges when health workers are empowered to:

    • share and validate their experiential knowledge;
    • develop, test, and implement solutions with the communities they serve, using local resources;
    • connect with peers facing similar challenges; and
    • inform policy based on ground-level realities.

    Working with a global community of community-based health workers, we co-developed the Teach to Reach platform, community, and network to listen and learn at scale. Unlike traditional training programs, Teach to Reach creates a peer learning ecosystem where:

    • Health workers from over 70 countries connect directly to share experiences.
    • Solutions are crowdsourced from those closest to the challenges.
    • Knowledge flows horizontally rather than just vertically.
    • Local innovations are rapidly shared and adapted across contexts.

    For example, in June 2024, over 21,000 health professionals participated in Teach to Reach 10, generating hundreds of real-world stories and insights about climate change impacts on health.

    The platform has proven particularly valuable in fragile contexts and resource-limited settings, where traditional capacity building approaches often struggle to reach or engage health workers effectively.

    This approach does not replace formal institutions or traditional scientific methods – instead, it creates new pathways for knowledge to flow rapidly between communities, while building the collective capacity needed to respond to accelerating climate impacts on health.

    Already, this demonstrates the untapped potential for health workers to contribute to our collective understanding and response.

    But we do not stop there.

    As we count down to Teach to Reach 11, participants are now sharing how they have actually used and applied this peer knowledge to make progress against their local challenges.

    They cannot do it alone.

    This is why we ask global partners to join and contribute to this emergent, locally-led leadership for change.

    How different is this ‘ask’ from that of global partners asking health workers to contribute to the climate change and health agenda?

    WHO’s COP29 report makes a powerful case that “community-led initiatives that harness local knowledge and practices in both climate action and health strategies are fundamental for creating interventions that are both culturally appropriate and effective.”

    Furthermore, it recognizes that “these initiatives ensure that climate and health solutions are tailored to the specific needs and realities of those most impacted by climate change but also grounded in their lived realities.”

    What framework for collaboration?

    The path forward requires what the report describes as “cooperation across sectors, stakeholders and rights-holders – governmental institutions, local authorities, local leaders including religious authorities and traditional medicine practitioners, NGOs, businesses, the health community, Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities.”

    Our experience with Teach to Reach demonstrates how such cooperation can be facilitated at scale through digital platforms that enable peer learning and knowledge sharing. Key elements include:

    • a structured yet flexible framework for sharing experiences and insights;
    • direct connections between health workers at all levels of the system;
    • rapid feedback loops between local implementation and broader learning;
    • support for health workers to document and share their innovations; and
    • mechanisms to validate and spread effective local solutions.

    WHO’s recognition that health workers have “a moral, professional and public responsibility to protect and promote health, which includes advocating for climate action, leveraging prevention for climate mitigation and cost savings, and safeguarding healthy environments” sets a clear mandate.

    This WHO report highlights the need for new ways of supporting community-led learning and action to:

    1. support the rapid sharing of local solutions;
    2. build health worker capacity through peer learning;
    3. connect communities facing similar challenges; and
    4. enable health workers to lead change in their communities

    Reference

    Neira, M. et al. (2024) COP 29 Special Report on Climate Change and Health: Health is the Argument for Climate Action. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.

    Image: The Geneva Learning Foundation Collection © 2024

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