Abbreviation | ACE |
---|---|
Formation | 2008 |
Type | Non-profit |
Purpose | Climate engagement, strategic media, youth advocacy and civic engagement |
Location |
|
Website | acespace |
Action for the Climate Emergency, or ACE (formerly Alliance for Climate Education) [1] is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works at the nexus of climate, civic engagement and strategic media. ACE reaches more than 36 million unique people annually in the United States with its programs. [2]
ACE provides in-person assemblies at high schools nationwide. [3] A study by Stanford, Yale, and George Mason University showed that after viewing the live ACE Assembly, students demonstrated a 27% increase in climate science knowledge, more than one-third (38%) became more engaged on the issue of climate change, and the number of students who talked to parents or peers about climate change more than doubled. [4]
ACE youth leaders have lobbied elected officials for pro-climate policies including energy efficiency, [5] fossil fuel divestment, [6] and renewable energy. [7] They have also spoken at events such as the United Nations, [8] Bioneers, [9] and Climate Action 2016. [10]
Awards for ACE's work include the White House Champion of Change Award for Climate Literacy, the National Center for Science Education Friend of the Planet Award, the AQMD Award for Public Education on Air Quality Issues, the EPA Environmental Merit Award, and the Climate Change Communicator of the Year Award. [11]
A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. Fossil fuels may be burned to provide heat for use directly, to power engines, or to generate electricity. Some fossil fuels are refined into derivatives such as kerosene, gasoline and propane before burning. The origin of fossil fuels is the anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms, containing organic molecules created by photosynthesis. The conversion from these materials to high-carbon fossil fuels typically requires a geological process of millions of years.
The University of Vermont (UVM), officially titled as University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. Founded in 1791, the university is the oldest in Vermont and the fifth-oldest in New England, making it among the oldest in the United States. It is one of the original eight Public Ivies.
Michael Scott Roth is an American academic and university administrator. He became the 16th president of Wesleyan University in 2007. Formerly, he was the 8th president of the California College of the Arts (2000–2007), associate director of the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, and Director of European Studies at Claremont Graduate University. He was also the H.B. Professor of Humanities at Scripps College, where he was the founding director of the Scripps College Humanities Institute.
The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits for California's 965,000 prekindergarten through community college educators and their families. CalSTRS was established by law in 1913 and is part of the State of California's Government Operations Agency. As of September 2020, CalSTRS is the largest teachers' retirement fund in the United States. CalSTRS is also currently the eleventh largest public pension fund in the world. As of October 31, 2020, CalSTRS managed a portfolio worth $254.7 billion.
Power Shift Network is a North American non-profit organization made up of a network of youth-led social and environmental justice organizations working together to build the youth clean energy and climate movement. It runs campaigns in the United States and Canada to build grassroots power and advocate for tangible changes on climate change and social justice at local, state, national and international levels in North America. The organization changed its name from Energy Action Coalition in July 2016 in order to reflect its new leadership and it shift from a coalition to a network structure. The Power Shift Network's members, which include other non-profit organizations and student groups focused on environmental justice, social justice, and climate change, focus their organizing and campaigns on campuses, communities, corporate practices, and politics. The Power Shift Network is part of the Global Youth Climate Movement.
350.org is an international environmental organization addressing the climate crisis. Its stated goal is to end the use of fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy by building a global, grassroots movement.
Individual action on climate change can include personal choices with regards to diet, travel, lifestyle, consumption of goods and services, family size and so on. Individuals can also get active in local and political advocacy work around climate action. People who wish to reduce their carbon footprint, can for example reduce air travel and driving cars, they can eat mainly a plant-based diet, use consumer products for longer, or have fewer children. Avoiding meat and dairy foods has been called "the single biggest way" how an individual can reduce their environmental impact. Scholars find that excessive consumption is more to blame for climate change than population increase. High consumption lifestyles have a greater environmental impact, with the richest 10% of people emitting about half the total lifestyle emissions.
The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21 or CMP 11 was held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 12 December 2015. It was the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 11th session of the Meeting of the Parties (CMP) to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
Connect4Climate is a global partnership program of the World Bank Group dedicated to engaging diverse audiences through creative climate communications campaigns. Its goal is to accelerate and consolidate climate action in pursuit of a sustainable future.
The climate movement is a global social movement focused on pressuring governments and industry to take action addressing the causes and impacts of climate change. Environmental non-profit organizations have engaged in significant climate activism since the late 1980s and early 1990s, as they sought to influence the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Climate activism has become increasingly prominent over time, gaining significant momentum during the 2009 Copenhagen Summit and particularly following the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2016.
Fossil fuel divestment or fossil fuel divestment and investment in climate solutions is an attempt to reduce climate change by exerting social, political, and economic pressure for the institutional divestment of assets including stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments connected to companies involved in extracting fossil fuels.
Juliana, et al. v. United States of America, et al. is a climate-related lawsuit filed in 2015 by 21 youth plaintiffs against the United States and several executive branch officials. Filing their case in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, the plaintiffs, represented by the non-profit organization Our Children's Trust, include Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, the members of Martinez's organization Earth Guardians, and climatologist James Hansen as a "guardian for future generations". Some fossil fuel and industry groups initially intervened as defendants but later requested to be dropped following the 2016 presidential election, stating that the case would be well defended under the new administration.
Climate change litigation, also known as climate litigation, is an emerging body of environmental law using legal practice to set case law precedent to further climate change mitigation efforts from public institutions, such as governments and companies. In the face of slow climate change politics delaying climate change mitigation, activists and lawyers have increased efforts to use national and international judiciary systems to advance the effort. Climate litigation typically engages in one of five types of legal claims: Constitutional law, administrative law, private law (challenging corporations or other organizations for negligence, nuisance, etc., fraud or consumer protection, or human rights.
A climate emergency declaration or declaring a climate emergency is an action taken by governments and scientists to acknowledge humanity is in a climate crisis.
Carla Suzanne Denyer is a British politician who has served as co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongside Adrian Ramsay since 1 October 2021. She has been a city councillor in Bristol since 2015. She is also noted for her lead role in bringing about Bristol City Council's declaration of a climate emergency in 2018, which was the first in Europe.
Adam McGibbon is a Northern Irish environmentalist and writer.
Ayisha Siddiqa is a Pakistani American climate justice advocate. She is the co-founder of Fossil Free University and Polluters Out.
Niria Alicia Garcia is a Xicana environmental activist, human rights advocate, and educator. She is an organizer involved with indigenous-led species restoration efforts in California's Sacramento River watershed.
May Boeve is an American environmental activist. She is a founder and executive director of 350.org, a climate NGO. The Guardian called her "the new face of the climate change movement."
Vic Barrett is an American climate activist. He is a plaintiff in Juliana v. United States and appeared in a documentary about the case, Youth v. Gov.