How do we center justice in the climate movement?

How do we center justice in the climate movement? Like many climate activists, the urgency of climate change drives my action.  That urgency encouraged me to affirm solutions like 100% renewables no matter the cost…until I started recognizing the costs. Without centering justice, our climate work “saves the planet” for a select few at the expense of countless others. Without climate justice, we sacrifice the people who are least responsible and most impacted.  

It’s easy to say, “we must center justice!” We know it is much harder to do the work.  Even with the best of intentions, we struggle to create the trusting relationships critical to transforming our future.  And even with the deepest of convictions, we struggle to sustain our energy for the long haul climate justice journey. As people of faith, we are called to transformative justice. We are called to deep reflection that moves us into intentional action. We are called to life-affirming hope. And we are called to strengthen and celebrate one another in our work for faithful climate justice.  

As individuals and communities, we also must recognize that complex problems like climate change don’t have a single, easy solution. The intersecting impacts of colonialism, extractive energy practices, corporate greed, and dominionism require us to think and act strategically at those intersections. We have to listen to and learn different ways of understanding and being as we cultivate accountable relationships with frontline communities.  We need to - we are called to - embrace curiosity, shared leadership, and transformation in our shared climate justice movement.

So, how do we develop those real relationships? How do we welcome and expand a broader leadership potential in our communities and our congregations? What can we do to create climate justice in ways that honor the sacred relationships we have with each other and our global community?

In the spirit of collaborative transformation, we invite you to join the upcoming Congregational Climate Convergence on March 22. This convergence will help us share and shape our various climate ministries with a systems approach and framework for engagement. Featuring case studies from Unitarian Universalists centering justice in the climate movement and engaging a broad spectrum of leadership, we will hold community conversations about how our climate work reflects our shared values. We will explore how to amplify and ground our work in Unitarian Universalist community with support from the Side with Love Action Center. We will remind ourselves and each other that we are not alone.

We are excited to have the opportunity to come together to connect, learn, and share. See you at the Convergence!

In community,

Rev. Ranwa Hammamy, Congregational Justice Organizer  

Rachel Myslivy, Climate Justice Organizer

UUA Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team