an example of engaging with politicians
A Greenpeace for people from all over the country to meet our representatives in federal government and I was happy to volunteer. The aim was to go to the capital and encourage legislation to promote electric vehicles. The Greenpeace briefing informed us about current policy, a new direction for low emissions, and also included training us on how to meet with politicians in order to achieve a positive outcome. My favorite photo from the day on the left was a meeting with Senator Jana Stewart, with my friends from Greenpeace Ash and Peter.
One of the politicians we met with said that meeting with politicians was a good way to keep the issue on the agenda and to give it additional momentum. A few weeks later, the government announced a new fuel efficiency standard would be introduced. This was the result of not just our action, but the work done by many people and groups over several years. When the government requested public input to inform the new legislation, I along with many other volunteers took the time to make a submission.
Influencing industry to reduce their emissions or politicians to create new legislation may take a lot of effort from many people over a long time. However, sustained effort can lead to positive action on climate change.
an example of engaging with CORPORATIONS
As part of the Greenpeace "Let's go Electric" campaign, large retail corporations were asked to make a commitment electrify their car and truck fleets. A petition was launched and thousands of customers of large retailers signed up to encourage them to take action. The retailers were notified of the response and invited to receive the petitions. I was one of the volunteers to go with the Greenpeace organizers to deliver them in person at their headquarters.
A few weeks later one of the biggest retailers on in the country made a commitment to switch their delivery truck fleet to electric by 2030, reducing their transportation emissions by 60%. Other retailers had not made any announcement and the campaign team asked for volunteers to engage with customers outside one of their stores. The photo on the left shows us on the day, where we asked customers as they entered the store, to email the retailer and ask them to make a commitment to electrification and emissions reductions.