Coalition Formation and Mission
In the spring of 2017, members of Newton's environmental organizations and activist groups held their first meeting to discuss how to work together on issues of common concern related to climate change.
The initial group included leaders of long-standing organizations like Green Newton, Newton Conservators, League of Women Voters and The Citizen's Commission on Energy, as well as newer local chapters of national and statewide organizations like 350mass, Sierra Club and Mother's Out Front. In addition, newly formed groups with local chapters like Indivisible and Forward MA, focused on post-election political action, joined the group with representatives of their environmental committees. We have City Council members, professors, architects, doctors, scientists and business leaders in our group. It is an informal coalition of organizations, leaders and citizens working to address climate change locally.
The Coalition set about work immediately, prioritizing the upcoming Newton elections, co-sponsoring two environmental forums for mayoral candidates and inviting City Council members to weigh in on climate change issues. This process was educational for candidates and for the public and led to serious consideration of what Newton could be doing to move more quickly toward a fossil-fuel-free, sustainable town.
At the same time, the Coalition was excited to learn about the City Council decision to move toward community choice aggregation, and set about the mission of making the upcoming initial contract as green as possible with Class 1, New England renewable energy. The Coalition asked Green Newton to design and lead a statistically reliable survey to determine how much more people would be willing to pay for green electricity. Based on the positive results, the Coalition then decided to launch an ambitious campaign for a higher default for the renewable component of aggregated electricity that will be the core of Newton Power Choice.
The Newton Coalition for Climate Action is open to all local groups wanting to face down the urgent reality of climate change with practical solutions. We are facing a global crisis that is already impacting even the most privileged parts of the world, like Massachusetts. Newton can lead by example. We must act locally, knowing that climate change has no borders and will only be addressed if we unite in a commitment to bring our carbon footprint in line with the safe levels proposed by scientists world wide.
