What's Next?

Delivering the 10/10/10 message to our leaders >>

Moving on from 10/10/10 >>

Delivering the 10/10/10 message to our leaders

It’s time to make 10/10/10 count politically.  The Global Work Party was about getting to work in our communities, and starting the transition to a future free of fossil fuels.  With the work we did, we sent a message to our leaders, “We’re getting to work, what about you?”  Now it’s time to deliver that message right directly to their offices.  Here are some quick steps to follow for setting up and holding a successful meeting:

1.  Do your research.  Figure out who you ought to be meeting with, and what their position on climate change is. This is likely going to be someone in your national delegation to the UNFCCC (you can look up the contact information here), someone within the environment ministry or climate change program, your representative or MP, or a candidate for those positions if there are upcoming elections.  Maybe you will want to meet with multiple leaders in different parts of the government, if it is possible.

2.  Set up a meeting.  Call them up!  Find out when it’s possible to have a meeting, or if there are open office hours when you can visit.

3.  Prepare. Get the photos and documents ready that you want to present to your politician.  Print out photos from your action, information on the ongoing work your group is doing, and check out this page for some more technical papers about 350ppm that you can give to your leaders.  Also, prepare your talking points and statistics regarding local and national issues--this is your time to make a statement about those issues, so be sure to think deeply with your fellow organizers and allies about what demands you want to make.

4.  Meet!  Be clear with your group beforehand about who is saying what in the meeting, and make sure to have a good idea of what demands you will be making in the meeting.  Be polite, professional, but strong, and make your case!  

5.  Tell us how it went.  Please write to us at delivery@350.org to let us know what happened at your meeting.
 

What's next? Moving on from 10/10/10...

We’re completely amazed at the scale, power, and creativity of what the 350 movement is accomplishing on 10/10/10. Thanks to the millions of you who have made this possible, and by your actions, exhibited the power of the global climate movement. An event this big demands follow-up, and that’s just what we intend to do.

The Global Work Party started as a simple idea: we're getting to work confronting the climate crisis, and we expect our politicians to do the same. Each of the thousands of work parties represents an action that lives on long past 10/10/10--trees will grow, fixed bikes will be ridden, solar panels will power homes. And all of these actions will help us continue building a broad and strong climate movement.

10/10/10 is an important jumping off point for putting this growing movement to work so that we can better demand the kind of change that will get us on the path back below 350. We need everyone who participated in 10/10/10, and millions more, to keep up that spirit and energy for the long haul. Climate change is a present problem, not a future threat, but the political conditions all over the world are not where they need to be to fix it.

The 350 team is committed to seeing this work through. Here's where our thinking is at:

We need our politicians to Get to Work.

It's not just a catchy phrase: it's a serious demand. We'll be working with all of you to build the kind of power that demands a response. In the words of Abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass, "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will."  One first step to issue a strong demand is to call your politicians.

Nothing we do on one day can change the future on its own, but it can help build the foundation for a movement that will.

We need to pursue new strategies.

One of these strategies is really tapping into human creativity--because politics isn’t everything!. That's why we're working to make 350 EARTH beautiful and inspiring.  We’re also exploring ideas for large-scale direct action.

We need to include more people.

10/10/10's focus on practical, positive solutions was a chance to include a lot of new allies in our movement-building, and it can't, and won't, stop there.

We're counting on your help and collaboration.

As always, you can write us at organizers@350.org