In 2022, the Lab finalized a five-year strategic plan with an updated theory of change stating that “the transformational change necessary to equitably address the climate crisis is more likely to occur when multiracial, cross-class (MRXC) movements claim their collective power, expand the imagination of what’s possible, and organize and mobilize people at scale.” This analysis is borne out of a recognition that climate policy can no longer be focused on carbon absolutism, or thinking about climate solutions simply in terms of emissions reductions and CO2-equivalents. 

Instead, policies that bundle* traditional climate concerns with initiatives addressing public health, environmental justice, labor justice, housing, public infrastructure, racial justice, and other progressive fights (e.g., the Green New Deal) have grown in both public and political popularity. Bundling expands the borders of climate policy and creates a bunch of potential new “winners” from climate policy, but it also means that the advocacy space is expanded with diverse new strategies, constituencies, and interests involved. 

However – as we've learned* – building and coordinating collective action across lines of race, class, and perspectives is hard. Organizing in MRXC contexts is often riddled with miscommunication, mistrust, and conflict that slows down or even halts progress. As a result, figuring how climate advocates can effectively navigate these dynamics is not just an exercise in earnestness, but a strategic orientation. We can’t do the work if our foundations are shaky and it takes more time and effort to fix things later than get things right to begin with. So how do we figure out better ways of building alignment?
 

The guiding concept behind our convening was to collect folks from the greater Lab community with experience operating in MRXC contexts and who shared our general political analysis around bundled climate policy. We wanted to dig deeper beyond simply shared visions of a MRXC climate movement and find out how that translates into actual values and working practices we could bring back to the Lab community. Our plan was to draw more concrete details out from conversation and mutual learning about how we’ve seen MRXC collaboration succeed, as well as examples of what not to do and why. These best practices were organized around the themes (or variables) of the Blueprint report as a general structure.

Following the footsteps of past attempts to bridge sectors of the wider climate movement like the Equitable and Just National Climate Platform*, we wanted to promote open dialogue, understanding, and alignment during our convening. To that end, we feel so fortunate to be doing this work and thinking alongside partners who bring such dedication, honesty, and rich interdisciplinary experience with working in MRXC contexts. And we are particularly grateful to all the folks who participated in the convening!

Organizations and coalitions represented at the LA convening 

Some key takeaways

• In our MRXC spaces, we need to be intentional about creating healthy relational cultures and trying to understand each others’ perspectives before diving into the work
• MRXC collaboration should begin with grounding in shared interests and goals, and then revisiting those shared goals throughout the collaboration
• The climate movement at large needs to continue deepening our analysis of class and political economy (attendees from Labor Network for Sustainability provided a really helpful presentation here)
• Depending on context, we should determine whether a coalition is the best vehicle for signaling MRXC solidarity, or if the same could be accomplished in other ways like a public united front
• If we do decide to work in formal coalition, we need to develop shared, democratic governance structures that reinforce the values of coalition members
• We should inoculate coalition participants with realistic expectations around conflict so they can develop emotional centeredness and train in practices to address and resolve tensions
• We need to be open to iteration and build in tight feedback loops to promote reflection and learning

Joshua Dedmond and Sydney Ghazarian of Labor Network for Sustainability presenting on class analysis
 

Next steps