January 7, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a final reflective blog for Assignment 3 in CALS 601<\/a><\/em> (Leading Climate Action in Society Part 2)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The final learning intensive of the MACAL program (aligned with RRU\u2019s Climate Week<\/a>) invited us to consider the type of leader we want to be, and the solutions we work for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The theme of \u201cfalse solutions\u201d came up in various contexts throughout the week. Eriel Techekwie Deranger first used the term during the Indigenous Climate Action: Decolonizing Solutions<\/em><\/a> webinar in terms of carbon-based market mechanisms (2023). Then Dr. Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti used the term \u201csoft reform\u201d (versus radical reform) in her Climate, Complexity, and Relational Accountability<\/em><\/a> workshop to describe small changes over time (2023). Finally, during the Climate Action Leadership Accelerator led by Solvable, facilitators adapted Bill Sharpe\u2019s Three Horizons framework<\/a> (n.d.). This framework assumes that dominant cultures change over time. Between the dominant paradigm (labelled Horizon 1 or H1 for short) and alternative paradigms (H3), there are interventions (H2). Interventions were categorized as H2 plus (H2+) and H2 minus (H2-), with H2- being false or incomplete solutions. All these ideas were reminiscent the debate between transformational and incremental change (which was explored in depth during our Modelling a Business Case for Climate Action<\/a>, CALS504 course).<\/p>\n\n\n\n One recurring example of a false solution (aka soft reform or H2-) was the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). Although EVs reduce the amount of greenhouse gas from vehicle travel, they still encourage us to design our cities in car-centric ways and expand the extraction of rare earth metals. In turn, the extraction of these metals can directly or indirectly harm Indigenous communities through land grabs or pollution, and promote resource-based conflicts around the globe. EVs are a solution that \u201csolves\u201d one problem while ignoring or creating new problems and extending colonialism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While I completely agree that many proposed climate solutions create or exacerbate existing inequalities and allow the western world to continue to over-consume, I still found myself challenged by the concept of false solutions. Partially because the climate solution that I presented as part of my final poster and video presentation<\/a> for the Leading Climate Action in Society Part 2<\/a> course (CALS601) is a false solution. In my work at Bow Valley College, we recently negotiated a contract amendment with a private company (Atlantica) on the carbon market to decarbonize our heat. No real emissions were reduced, and nothing really <\/em>changed. Certainly, this project isn\u2019t contributing to decolonization or restoring ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet part of me still believes in this solution. By Bow Valley College paying a green fee for carbon neutral district energy, we are sending a signal to the company\u2019s investors that clients care and are willing to pay for climate solutions. In turn, this gives the company confidence that it is worth investing in technology to decarbonize the heat they sell to their clients. In fact, Atlantica recently piloted blending hydrogen into their natural gas boilers, and they are in the process of replacing their natural gas boilers with electric boilers powered by solar. Bow Valley College paying the green fee didn\u2019t cause <\/em>this transition away from fossil-fuels, but our actions helped speed it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So is this a false solution or not? Depending on the day, I waver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, I believe it is both a false solution and also necessary. We know it is crucial that we stop using fossil fuels to power our economy. The tricky part is figuring out how. <\/em>We need to figure out the first step we need to take, so that we can move onto the second, third, fourth steps, and ultimately heat our buildings without fossil fuels. I don\u2019t believe incremental change within a district energy system is the only <\/em>climate solution or even the best <\/em>climate solution, but it is a solution nonetheless (though it\u2019s incomplete and imperfect).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her blog Pay Attention to the 90%<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Jen Lash reminds us that only 10% of a policy or initiative is in the idea \u2013 the other 90% is \u201cfinding a way to push the existing social structures up a hill to a more just society\u201d (2023, para. 5). In short, 10% of the work is the initial idea, while 90% of the work is implementation. Often, that implementation is not glamourous, easy, or straightforward. Instead, it usually involves working across silos, collaborating across organizations, writing numerous drafts, seeking and incorporating feedback, budgeting, interpreting legal documents, and convincing colleagues or decision-makers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m beginning to see my theory of change as someone who works on the 90%. Alberta has a lot of transitioning to do, and I want to be part of the group of people that are contributing to this transition in tangible ways. That\u2019s not the only <\/em>work I do \u2013 I also advocate for larger-scale change both in my paid and volunteer work. But I have found the healthiest balance for me is working at multiple scales: getting into the weeds and implementing tangible solutions, while working on the radical reform that is required. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I believe transformative action can be built on strategic incrementalism. My vision for Bow Valley College is an institution that uses zero carbon for heating and electricity. I also have visions for the College to be an emergency cooling centre when Calgarians need it. I have visions for our curriculum to produce graduates that contribute to a climate resilient world, across health care, legal, business, and entertainment arts sectors. But to get there, I need to break these visions into tangible steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On many days I feel like this approach to leadership isn\u2019t enough. Yet I am emboldened by Justin Smith, a person just like me who is enacting change from within an organization. In his TEDx Talk From Idealist to Environmental Pragmatist<\/a> <\/em>he says, \u201cit requires courage to try and work within a system and change things from inside\u201d (6:09, 2014). Whether the system is a single institution or a province as a whole, I feel up for the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n References<\/p>\n\n\n\n De Oliverira Andreotti, V. (2023, December 13). Climate, complexity and relational accountability <\/em>[Video]. YouTube Royal Roads University Climate Week – Climate, Complexity and Relational Accountability (youtube.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Deranger, E. [Royal Roads University]. (2023, December 13). Indigenous climate action: Decolonizing solutions <\/em>[Video]. YouTube. Royal Roads University Climate Week – Indigenous Climate Action: decolonizing solutions – YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lash, J. (2023, December 16). Pay attention to the 90%. WordPress. <\/em>https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jlash\/931-2\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith, J. [TEDx Talks]. (2014, September 8). From idealist to environmental pragmatist <\/em>[Video]. YouTube. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=POxfKCQywkA<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n