POLICY ACTION SQUADS TAP ONLINE POLICY BANKS

Using cutting edge online policy banks to shape local policy demands

- by Matt Bogoshian, Policy Action Chair

For those Climate Reality Project volunteers who want to work with other CRP volunteers to take direct action by insisting that local governing bodies change their policies to more aggressively reduce GHG emissions, our chapter created a way to do it, yay!  We call these groups our Policy Action Squads and in 90 day increments our CRP volunteers get together (virtually) to get trained on best practices to persuade local elected officials to adopt smarter GHG reducing policies.  What policies you might ask?  Good question!  

So far, in choosing meaningful GHG reducing policies that apply in Bay Area jurisdictions our Policy Action Squads have relied on some of the leading research and policy recommendations and examples in other local jurisdictions to "help" local electeds do better.  For example, last year we had a Policy Action bootcamp with Hal Harvey, author of Designing Climate Solutions, outlining the best policies to change. (Hal also gave us strong input on our whole policy action approach and materials, thanks Hal!).  Then we had another meet-up early this year where Sierra Club experts on building electrification offered their expertise and recommendations to our volunteers.  

ACCESSING BEST-IN-CLASS MODEL POLICIES

Now we are exploring how our volunteers can use what we think is one of the most comprehensive and cutting edge online policy banks to draw from in developing the best local policy demands.  The online tool grows out of the international Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization (LPDD) work as applied in the United States and curated by some of world's leading climate experts. Our Policy Action Squad leaders and others are meeting soon with the leaders of the effort to learn more about how the tool works. We are also exploring how our Policy Action Squads might get matched up with local law students who can help our Policy Action Squads take those best policies found on the LPDD tool and shape them for adoption and maximum impact in targeted jurisdictions.       

Policy Action Squad petitions to local governing bodies may not be sexy or something all of our CRP volunteers can do, but for those willing to give it try and, coupled with the many outstanding educational presentations our CRP volunteers make in all kinds of forums throughout the Bay Area, our chapter has quite the one-two punch, education and policy action!

For more information about this work and how you can be part of a Policy Action Squad, please contact Leslie Alden on our Policy Action Leadership Team.