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Conversations about climate change and climate solutions often include traditional leaders while overlooking everyday people trying to effect change. But people – both individually and collectively – have a pivotal role to play in stopping climate change. So how can individuals take action to integrate climate solutions into their own lives? And how can they leverage that action to increase their understanding of and connection with the broader systemic changes our world needs? While Project Drawdown has created a number of resources to help people discover solutions and take action – including our Climate Solutions at Work report, Job Function Action Guides, Drawdown’s Neighborhood series, and the Solutions Library – our partnership with Ecochallenge.org serves as another entry point for individuals and communities to help stop climate change.  This October advocates and changemakers from around the world (including you!) are invited to register and participate in Drawdown Ecochallenge, a digital platform that gamifies behavior change, providing fun challenges that encourage new habits and help communities, corporations, students, and everyday people contribute to a more sustainable world.

Project Drawdown is headed to Climate Week NYC – an annual event in partnership with the United Nations General Assembly and run in coordination with the United Nations and the City of New York. According to Climate Group, an international nonprofit focused on climate action and the host for this annual gathering, "Climate Week NYC is the largest annual climate event of its kind, bringing together some 400 events and activities across the City of New York – in person, hybrid, and online. Each year, business leaders, political change makers, local decision-makers, and civil society representatives of all ages and backgrounds, from all over the world, gather to drive the transition, speed up progress, and champion change that is already happening." At this year’s event, Project Drawdown will have its biggest presence ever, with presentations and workshops happening almost daily between September 18–22. Here’s a day-by-day rundown of where we’ll be in the city and how you can sign up to attend in person and virtually (where possible). MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 Climate Clarity: Let’s debunk the myths 8:30–10:00 a.m. ET 999 3rd Ave., New York City Kicking off the week, senior scientist Kate Marvel will be joining the Action Speaks Summit for a panel titled “Climate Clarity: Let’s debunk the myths.”  The summit – presented by IKEA | Ingka Group – is open to the public during Climate Week and takes place at 999 3rd Ave., New York, NY 10022. Stop by to explore the scientific reality of climate change, experience a positive vision for the future, and get inspired by impactful climate solutions already out there. The exhibition features actions from over 30 companies and organizations working to create a better tomorrow, plus the space will host a series of dialogues throughout Climate Week to further explore solutions, debunk myths and barriers, and delve into what is accelerating climate action. Learn more about the exhibition and save your seat today for the hosted dialogues. Climate Capital: Investing in science-based climate solutions 1:30–3:00 p.m. ET 999 3rd Ave., New York City Stephan Nicoleau, partner at FullCycle and Project Drawdown board member, will also be joining the Action Speak Summit for a session titled “Climate Capital: Investing in science-based climate solutions.” Visit the summit website to learn more and register for free.  Up2Us2023: A Better World is Possible 7:00–8:30 p.m. ET 2 W. 64th St., New York City Rounding out the day, Kate Marvel will join filmmakers, climate scientists, activists, storytellers, movement builders, and journalists who are transforming the climate conversation for Up2Us2023. The event is both live and live-streamed, so register now before it’s sold out.  TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 ONE HOME, ONE PLANET dialogue 12:00–2:00 p.m. ET 999 3rd Ave., New York City Project Drawdown managing director Elizabeth Bagley will be attending the ONE HOME, ONE PLANET dialogue featuring Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group, and others at the Action Speaks Summit.  During this invitation-only session, high-level contributors from business, government, and civil society will discuss what we can do to raise awareness about existing solutions and the actions being taken to implement them. Project Drawdown served as a key scientific advisor for the Action Speaks Summit.  WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 The Drawdown Roadmap: Using science to guide climate action 9:00–9:30 a.m. ET 445 11th Ave. (4th Floor), New York City Project Drawdown executive director Jonathan Foley will be delivering the opening keynote on day two of the Nest Climate Campus at the Javits Center in Manhattan.  Foley’s talk – titled “The Drawdown Roadmap: Using science to guide climate action” – will highlight which climate actions governments, businesses, investors, philanthropists, community leaders, and others should prioritize to make the most of our efforts to stop climate change. He’ll also share details about the Drawdown Labs Capital Accelerator – a new initiative aiming to strategically guide billions of dollars of investments into the most urgent climate solutions. The Nest Climate Campus is free and open to the public, but space is limited, so register early. Please note, this keynote will be recorded and shared online following Climate Week. Narratives of Change: How storytelling shapes climate solutions 4:00–6:00 p.m. ET 999 3rd Ave., New York City Back at the Action Speaks Summit, Project Drawdown’s Matt Scott, director of storytelling and engagement, and Drew Arrieta, storytelling coordinator, along with Jothsna Harris of Change Narrative, will be leading a session titled “Narratives of Change: How storytelling shapes climate solutions.” How do we ensure that every voice, especially those most immediately impacted by the climate crisis (Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color), is heard and valued in the climate conversation?  Join this conversation featuring Jennifer Seda, volunteer program assistant, Bronx River Alliance; Xóchitl Garcia, environmental justice community leader; Clara Kitongo, tree equity manager, Tree Pittsburgh; and Joshua Benitez, co-director, Common Ground Relief. Live musical performances by Clara and Joshua will add a stirring, soulful backdrop to the panel, reflecting the heartbeat of communities engaged in building a better climate future. Visit the summit website to learn more and register for free. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 The Path to Net Zero: Collaborate, Innovate, Change 8:45–9:30 a.m. ET 225 Liberty St., New York City Kicking off the day, Jonathan Foley will be joining a panel at the Fast Company Innovation Festival titled “The Path to Net Zero: Collaborate, Innovate, Change.” This session – presented by 3M – will explore the economic transformation needed to reach net zero, the power of global collaboration, and opportunities for adopting scalable climate technologies. Register here (for a fee) to attend the Innovation Festival. 

“Passing the mic” in the context of the climate crisis is all about recognizing that the communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change – Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color – are often the least represented in the conversations we have and the stories we tell. Thankfully, a number of platforms are stepping up to amplify the voices that have long been excluded. One of them is Pattrn, a digital platform in partnership with The Weather Channel, “for those who love the earth, fight for its future, and want to learn more about how to protect it.” Recently, Pattrn added Drawdown’s Neighborhood, the climate solutions short documentary series presented by Project Drawdown centering the underrepresented climate heroes that have often gone unheard, to its lineup. Project Drawdown’s Director of Storytelling & Engagement Matt Scott, who created and hosts Drawdown’s Neighborhood, recently spoke with Stephanie Abrams and Jordan Steele on The Weather Channel’s Pattrn Show about Drawdown’s Neighborhood and the significance of telling stories like those featured in the series. “For so long, as [climate] storytellers, we’ve thought that what we need to do is scare people,” Scott says during the interview. “[But] while we need to bring in the story of the problem and the crisis and those realities so people know it’s there, we also need to bring in the other half of the story of the solutions and what people can do.”  To date, the series has interviewed 48 climate heroes across seven locations with 11 of those stories set to premiere this fall. “There are so many voices and stories, and I’m just so thankful that some of them can be out there through Pattrn and The Weather Channel,” Scott says. Pattrn's mission is to explore, inform, engage, and revel in the patterns of our amazing planet. Since Pattrn's launch, the brand has evolved from a social media community to a free ad-supported streaming TV channel whose content is dedicated to climate and sustainability news and programming.  

Drawdown’s Neighborhood, presented by Project Drawdown, is a series of short documentaries featuring the stories of climate solutions heroes, city by city across America. The fourth edition—Drawdown’s Neighborhood: New Orleans—is now available online! The Big Easy. Crescent City. The Birthplace of Jazz. The Paris of the South. N’awlins. Or simply NOLA. The latest installment of Drawdown’s Neighborhood takes us to one of the most vibrant and resilient cities in the United States: New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans is more than a city rich in culture; it is a place of resilience, where people live, work and play on the frontlines of climate change with hurricanes, oil drilling disasters, and shrinking coastlines due to sea level rise lingering as not-too-distant concerns. It is also home to a diverse network of people and organizations working on climate solutions. Often, the communities most immediately and severely affected by climate change—including Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color—are excluded from dialogues about solutions. Drawdown's Neighborhood: New Orleans features the stories of eight change-makers working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a healthier, more just future for all.

Earth Week, which takes place April 14–22, is an occasion inviting people everywhere to turn their attention to climate change and find their role in climate solutions. Do you know how you’ll help the world counter climate change this coming Earth Week? If you’re looking for your own Earth Week ideas, check out the Drawdown Solutions Library, our Job Function Action Guides, or partner resources like Drawdown Ecochallenge. Looking for even more ways you can make an impact, like some of the everyday climate heroes we’ve featured to-date through the climate solutions short documentary series Drawdown’s Neighborhood? Today, we invite you to learn how some of the local climate heroes and organizations featured in Drawdown’s Neighborhood interviewees are celebrating Earth Week in their communities.

Drawdown’s Neighborhood, presented by Project Drawdown, is a series of short documentaries featuring the stories of climate solutions heroes, city by city. We are extremely excited to share with you that following the 2022 release of episodes profiling Pittsburgh and Atlanta, the series’ third edition—“Drawdown’s Neighborhood: Twin Cities”—is now available online! Join host and Project Drawdown director of storytelling and engagement Matt Scott as he passes the mic to nine climate heroes whose stories often go unheard, and elevates climate action—and stories about careers, race, gender, sexuality, mental health, personal and community resilience, family, and more—in the process. The series’ third round of documentary shorts showcases Minnesota’s Twin Cities, located on the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Native lands of the Dakota and Anishinaabe People. While Minneapolis and St. Paul are renowned for their vibrant arts scene, rich cultural diversity, and natural beauty, they are also home to a robust ecosystem of people and organizations deeply committed to working on climate solutions. In the targets outlined in its current climate action plan, the City of Minneapolis is aiming by 2025 to cut down greenhouse gas emissions by nearly one-third, generate 10 percent of electricity from renewable sources, and increase rates of recycling, composting, and bicycle commuting. Meanwhile, St. Paul's current climate action and resilience plan aims to have all city operations be carbon neutral by 2030 with further plans for the entire city to go carbon neutral by 2050 through greater use of natural infrastructure and implementation of a wide range of green-friendly initiatives. “Drawdown’s Neighborhood: Twin Cities” profiles local climate superheroes who are helping fuel progress in pursuit of these goals to help lay the foundation for a healthy, just, and vibrant future for all. Day in and day out, each of the interviewees are doing their part to help the world reach drawdown—the future point when levels of greenhouse gases start to steadily decline. And each story serves as a bridge between climate solutions and people like you looking to tap into their own superpowers to stop climate change.    The Drawdown’s Neighborhood short documentaries touch on a range of themes used to inspire action. Themes include pathways to climate careers; collaboration across silos, including geographies, sectors, and ideologies; diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice; hope and opportunity; individual action paired with systems change; and personal and community resilience. The nine stories from the Twin Cities center the voices of women, Black people, people of color, immigrants, and others who are often not represented in the climate dialogue and yet are commonly most immediately and severely vulnerable to the impacts of climate catastrophe. You will be inspired to discover your own climate superpower with Bob Blake, a member of Minnesota’s Red Lake Tribal Band of Ojibwe Indians whose vision and leadership is advancing the region’s renewable energy transition while empowering tribal nations to lead the way toward a clean energy future.  Put yourself in the driver’s seat on the road to a greener future with Yesenia Robles Pelayo, who manages fleet logistics for a non-profit all-electric community car share program while working directly with community members who might otherwise not have access to affordable, climate-friendly transportation.  Turbocharge your pursuit of climate justice with Emily Mauter, whose work with Repowered—one of the most prominent collectors of e-waste in Minnesota—is not only creating new opportunities for electronics through increased recycling, but also providing workforce development and reintegration opportunities for people who have experienced incarceration. The series also includes: Jose Alvillar Hinojosa, Statewide Director of Youth Programs with Unidos MN Whitney Terrill, Former Environmental Justice Program Manager with Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light Alboury Ndiaye, Sustainability Specialist with the Waste Wise Foundation Crispin (Cris) Phillips, Urban Agriculture Manager for Appetite for Change Jan Hagerman, Manager of New Brighton ReStore at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity Jothsna Harris, Founder and Principal at Change Narrative Feeling inspired? To unleash your inner climate superhero, visit Drawdown’s Neighborhood to discover solutions and take action today. 

In 2022, Drawdown Stories welcomed the world into a journey to “pass the mic” to the climate heroes who often go unheard and, in the process, invite people everywhere to tap into their unique “superpowers” to play a role in helping the world reach drawdown. Early in the year, I took the stage at the 2022 Planet Forward Summit, sponsored by organizations including National Geographic, Discovery, Comcast, Adobe, and Patagonia, to underscore why accelerating new, inclusive climate conversations isn’t only nice, but necessary. “I want to ask you to consider a question: As you navigate crisis, as you seek solutions, who and what are the voices that often aren’t represented in those conversations? Literally, look around you. Consider who is sitting next to you. If you’re on the livestream, consider who’s in the rooms with you or who you work with. What voices are represented, and who’s missing from those conversations? “Unfortunately, studies have shown that those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and the climate crisis – Black communities, Indigenous communities, communities of color, low-income communities – are also often not represented in climate conversations or in rooms like this, and that’s a huge problem. In the spirit of navigating crisis and seeking solutions, we’re not taking that sitting down; we’re doing something about it and that’s what passing the mic is all about.” Reaching drawdown as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible requires that all communities – particularly those least represented – have a seat at the table and have a part in solutions. Recognizing the task at hand, Drawdown Stories serves to spread awareness, shape attitudes, and spark action for the broader climate community, including educators and their students, as well as other future climate leaders, through storytelling and engagement. This year, we made progress in a number of ways. We centered the voices that often go unheard in the popular climate solutions dialogue. In February 2022, at the start of Black History Month, Drawdown Stories hosted a virtual launch event for our program’s guiding principle of “Climate Solutions in Color” at the annual Great Northern Festival. We were joined by Clara Kitongo, program manager at the One Tree Per Child Program at Tree Pittsburgh; Ben Passer, senior program officer, Midwest climate and energy, at McKnight Foundation; Jacqui Patterson, founder and executive director of the Chisholm Legacy Project: A Resource Hub for Black Frontline Climate Justice Leadership and former senior director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program; and Jothsna Harris, founder of Change Narrative. Hosted live for hundreds in real time, the conversation underscored the need to welcome underrepresented voices in climate, not only to counteract historic and present disparities, but to welcome everyday “superpowers” of those who have often been left out of the conversation. We introduced the world to drawdown-aligned climate careers and solutions in action. Drawdown Labs highlights how every job can be a climate job and, through the work of Drawdown Stories in 2022, we showcased a diverse range of people in careers helping the world reach drawdown. The 20 change makers – in 20 unique roles showcasing the diversity of climate careers: Paige Anderson, project manager at the City of Pittsburgh, Department of Mobility and Infrastructure Blair Beasley, director of climate strategies at the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, working to support Drawdown Georgia Erica Cochran Hameen, PhD, architectural designer, professor, researcher, and director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture Alexis Cromer, food operations director at 412 Food Rescue Tylesha Giddings, technical project manager at Southface Adam Hicks, field manager at Concrete Jungle Tonya Hicks, founder and CEO of Power Solutions, and Founder of Women Do Everything Kendrick Kelsey, Reuse Center associate at Lifecycle Building Center Clara Kitongo, program coordinator, One Tree Per Child, at Tree Pittsburgh Angie Martinez, senior right-of-way manager at the City of Pittsburgh, Department of Mobility and Infrastructure Demetrius Milling, worker-owner at Love is Love Cooperative Farm Veni Mittal, (former) energy audits associate at Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh / community service chair at the Green Building Alliance Tom Mulholland, senior project manager at Grounded Strategies Robin Okunowo, program coordinator at Captain Planet Foundation's Planeteer Alliance Sarah Olexsak, manager of transportation electrification at Duquesne Light Company Steve Place, horticulturist at the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design Eri Saikawa, associate professor, Winship distinguished research professor of environmental sciences, and director of Emory Talks Climate at Emory University Shawn Taylor, crew leader at Landforce  Richard Tumushime, head electrician at Energy Independent Solutions Brandon Walton, fleet manager with the City of Pittsburgh, Office of Management and Budget We equipped communities with stories and resources to spread awareness, shape attitudes, and spark action. While The Great Northern Festival was the official launch of Drawdown Stories’ work to “pass the mic,” it was later in the spring that we launched Drawdown’s Neighborhood, a climate solutions short documentary series featuring the stories of climate solutions heroes, city by city. The series began with stories from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and, in the fall, added stories from Atlanta, Georgia – centering stories of BIPOC, women, youth, and immigrant climate leaders. The Drawdown’s Neighborhood series is only beginning to achieve the impact it set out to have. To date, people from community organizations and other institutions in 30+ states have shared ways they plan to collectively engage more than 1 million people with Drawdown’s Neighborhood. Each series features learning and action resources, including offerings from ChangeX, Climate Generation, Ecochallenge.org, Solutions Journalism Network, and SubjectToClimate, as well as Project Drawdown resources like the Drawdown Labs Job Function Action Guides, Climate Solutions 101, and the Drawdown Solutions Library. We collaborated with platforms and communities alike to begin to “pass the mic.” This year, Drawdown Stories also contributed to a number of annual conferences and events hosted by Climate Generation, The Great Northern Festival, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the New England Aquarium, and Planet Forward. These collaborations resulted in tremendous reach, including downloads as part of National Geographic’s Overheard Podcast episode “The Greening of Pittsburgh” and more than 50,000 views hosting a show as part of Pinterest TV’s Climate Week show, “Real-World Climate Superheroes.” We also shared Drawdown Stories content and resources directly – through talks and workshops – with communities of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability Education (AASHE); California State Universities; Chabot College; Children’s Climate Championship; Club of Lisbon; the Design for Empathy Podcast; The George Washington University: Grand Valley State University: the HOPE, ACT, THRIVE podcast: Mass Audubon: the Mid-Atlantic Climate Change Education Conference: Pittsburgh Youth for Climate Action (hosted by Communitopia): SEI: Stanford University: The University of Maryland: and more. Locally, with the generous support of 7 Stages Theatre and Drawdown Georgia, we also hosted the very first of many Drawdown’s Neighborhood community launch events. This launch, for Drawdown’s Neighborhood: Atlanta, welcomed 150 community members including public and private sector leaders, climate professionals, environmental justice advocates, educators, faith-based organizers, and everyday climate heroes from a wide range of locally and nationally recognized institutions.  We prepared to go even further in 2023. In the second half of 2022, Drawdown Stories welcomed a new storytelling coordinator and engagement coordinator, bolstering the impact of our work community by community. In addition to preparing to feature and share more stories, we began to explore exciting partnerships and editorial collaborations that will bear fruit in 2023. As we continue to build Drawdown Stories, we are excited for the impact of our work to blossom – providing people with a better understanding of the role climate solutions can play in their local communities and the science underlying those solutions; providing people with opportunities for deeper exploration and dialogue related to climate change and climate solutions; and providing people with relatable, relevant, inclusive stories and resources that enable them to help the world reach drawdown.