February 2022 – Climate For All

The City of Sault Ste. Marie’s conducted a climate change risk assessment consisting of two workshops held with City employees from different departments as well as several regional and provincial organizations working in the areas of conservation, health and natural resources. (Climate Risk Institute, 2020, p. 3). In the first workshop, participants identified risks for municipal services and for its residents; in the second workshop, participants ranked the risks identified in the first workshop in order of gravity and likelihood (Climate Risk Institute, 2020, p. 3). This risk assessment used a mixed-methods approach, benefiting from the specialized knowledge and perspective of local participants from different city departments as well as key external stakeholders, while also relying on the presentation of climate data, guidance and expertise provided by external consultants to frame the discussion (Climate Risk Institute, 2020, p. 9-10). The scope of the assessment was quite high-level and broad, covering all departments and a wide spectrum of consequences for “people, economy, environment and city” as well as for community members (Climate Risk Institute, 2020, p. 3, p. 21; Guidance on good practices in climate change risk assessment, 2021, p. 11).

This assessment made effective use of a hybrid approach (top-down and bottom-up) to benefit from the advantages of these different strategies. For instance, facilitators with climate change expertise were able to frame and guide the discussions of workshop participants who brought sector-specific knowledge; engaging with local stakeholders also promoted buy-in (Climate Risk Institute, 2020, p. 13). One significant shortcoming of this assessment was that indigenous communities were not consulted. For instance, the Missanabie Cree First Nation and Garden River First Nation, both local indigenous communities, should have been engaged. As well, the assessment’s objectives included identifying risks for “the lives and livelihoods of residents in the city and region” (Climate Risk Institute, 2020, p. 3), community stakeholders were not consulted. In addition to providing valuable local knowledge and lived experience, community stakeholder participation could have been included with attention paid to demographic diversity, in order to include a variety of perspectives and experiences related to “income levels, housing situations, ages, genders, disability and health status, urban versus suburban residents, employment type (e.g. outdoor workers versus downtown office workers) and immigration status” (Ponette, 2022, p.5). These varied perspectives and lived experiences would have provided a much more accurate understanding of the actual vulnerabilities and risks affecting the community.

No next steps appear to have been planned for the assessment, although there were several recommended actions and uses provided (Climate Risk Institute, 2020, p. 35; Sault Ste. Marie, Climate Change Adaptation section). As I have previously mentioned, as per their website the City has chosen to focus primarily on mitigation rather than adaptation for the time being (Sault Ste. Marie, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan section).

References

Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment(2021). Guidance on Good Practices in Climate Change Risk Assessment. https://ccme.ca/en/res/riskassessmentguidancesecured.pdf

Climate Risk Institute. (2020). Climate Change Risk Assessment – City of Sault Ste. Marie. https://saultstemarie.ca/Cityweb/media/Community-Services/GHG/Final-Report-Climate-Change-Risk-Assessment_SSM.pdf

Ponette, M. (2022). Assignment 2: Critical Evaluation of Climate Assessment Typologies [Unpublished Essay]. Faculty of Environment & Sustainability, Royal Roads University.

Sault Ste. Marie (n.d.). Climate Change Adaptation. Retrieved February 3, 2022 from https://saultstemarie.ca/City-Hall/City-Departments/Community-Development-Enterprise-Services/FutureSSM/Environment/Greenhouse-Gas-Reduction-Plan/Climate-Change-Adaptation.aspx

Sault Ste. Marie (n.d.). Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan. Retrieved February 3, 2022 from https://saultstemarie.ca/City-Services/City-Departments/Community-Development-and-Enterprise-Services/FutureSSM/Environment/Greenhouse-Gas-Emissions-Reduction-Plan.aspx

As we’ve been honing out concept and reiterating our design in Unit 3, I’ve been reflecting on the need for uniqueness in our design. In the feedback provided by instructors, it was clear that we need to ensure our design is either adding something new or building off what already exists. Following up on this feedback has led me to discover many exciting youth programs that already exist and that closely resemble our project; one such program is Youth Climate Lab. The Youth Climate Lab is a youth led organization that uses design thinking and works in partnership, including internationally and with indigenous communities, to “accelerate youth-led climate policy, projects and businesses” (Youth Climate Lab, n.d., Who We Are Section). As I explore these existing initiatives, I am stalled in my progress with our design concept: what is the value of creating something new – in our case a program for high-school students that guides them through the design thinking process to build climate solutions – rather than lending our support to a youth-led initiative such as Youth Climate Lab? As we learned in CALS502 – Communication for Climate Action and as shared in instructor feedback, youth are much more motivated to learn from a trusted source and from their peers (Hodson, 2019; personal communication, December 17, 2021). As well, youth often feel stifled by adult leadership. In one study, for example, young climate activists described adult-led initiatives as having aims and approaches that are sometimes incongruous for youth; research participants also felt that unless executive power was in youth’s hands, hierarchical power dynamics are inevitable (Elsen & Ord, 2021, Enabling Empowerment Section). I realize that we are welcome to build off existing initiatives in our design challenge; that said, I can’t help but feel regret that we didn’t consult with end users right from the beginning. It seems problematic to design something for youth, without centring their priorities and perspectives from the outset. I agree that “we gain empathy through conversations with end users. Design thinking holds that the person who experiences the problem has part of the solution and has an understanding of the context to/within which the solution will need to respond” (Royal Roads University, n.d., p.3). What power dynamics exist between us as designers and youth, and are we reinforcing those dynamics through our process? What is my value-added as an adult in designing a program for youth and how can it be right to initiate a project for them, unless they are leading from the beginning?

As I continue to work on decolonizing my perspective in CALS503– Climate Risk Management, I find myself slowing down to uncover underlying assumptions and taken for granted approaches. As Tuhiwai Smith explains, the dominant Western worldview that I was raised with contains oppressive and hierarchical rules and approaches that are taken for granted and thus often unconscious (2012, p.93-96). While Tuhiwai Smith’s work explores the impacts of the Western worldview on Indigenous Peoples in a research context, I see parallels with how youth might experience working and learning relationships with adults. This reflection brings me back to the drawing board when it comes to our design concept – as adults, is it even appropriate for us to be designing a youth program? These questions, as disruptive to our process as they may be, are helping me to unpack my assumptions and centre the end-user as I question my role and contributions to Climate Action Leadership.

References

Elsen, F., & Ord, J. (2021). The Role of Adults in “Youth Led” Climate Groups: Enabling Empowerment. Frontiers in Political Science. 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2021.641154

Hodson, J. (2019). An ecological model of climate marketing: A conceptual framework for understanding climate science related attitude and behavior change. Cogent Social Sciences 5(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2019.1625101

Royal Roads University (n.d.) CALS 501 Learning Intensive – Design Thinking Process Worksheet. Retrieved February 15, 2022, from https://commons.royalroads.ca/cals501/wp-content/uploads/sites/97/2021/05/CAL-501-Design-Thinking-Learning-Intensive-Process-Worksheet-May-11-2021.pdf

Tuhiwai Smith, L. (2012).Decolonizing methodologies: Research and Indigenous peoples (2^nd edition). Zed Books. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/royalroadsebooks/detail.action?docID=1426837

Youth Climate Lab (n.d.) Who We Are Section. https://www.youthclimatelab.org/team

Month: February 2022

CALS 503 – Analysis of the Climate Change Risk Assessment for the City of Sault Ste. Marie

Adding Value and End-User Leadership