We Are Still In
- A Call to Action: We Are Still In and Museum Associations
- A Call to Action: We Are Still In and Cultural Institutions
- Energy Benchmarking for Museums
Since June 2017, local leaders in support of climate action in the United States joined together to form We Are Still In to support the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement and share in the work of creating a more sustainable world. We Are Still In is the largest cross-section of local leaders in support of climate action in the United States.
In spring 2018, #MuseumsforParis, a program created by Sustainable Museums, aligned with We Are Still In, to create the Cultural Institutions sector joining the now over 2700 states, counties, cities, businesses, investors, colleges and universities, and tribes. The list of signatories can be viewed here.
Endorsed by AAM and the Environment and Climate Network, through We Are Still In, cultural institutions can now:
- raise their profile locally and nationally
- access better tools and information
- gain peer mentors to advance this work more effectively, and
- increase their potential for funding
Interested in learning more? Read below and join us for a 30-minute online Zoom meeting in June or July. We’ll answer your questions and walk through the sign-up process. Link here.
Please contact us at environmentandclimate@aam-us.org with any questions or ideas, and keep a look out on social media for updates and additional information. Until then, head to the We Are Still In website to sign on, and to search for stories of other cultural institutions’ (26 and counting!) participation. By signing on during June and July, your contributions will be part of the Cultural Institution Sector’s reporting at the Global Climate Action Summit in California in September.
What is We Are Still In (WASI)?
We Are Still In is the largest cross-section of local leaders in support of climate action in the United States. It is a nonprofit funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Rocky Mountain Institute, and World Wildlife Fund among many others. AAM, through the Environment and Climate Network has endorsed this effort.
Why was We Are Still In created? WASI was created June 5, 2017, five days after President Trump’s announced his planned withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement.
How is AAM involved?
In spring 2018, #MuseumsforParis, a program created by Sustainable Museums, aligned with We Are Still In, to help the cultural institutions sector easily and visibly support the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement and share in the work of creating a more sustainable world. Through We Are Still In, cultural institutions can now:
- raise their profile locally and nationally
- access better tools and information
- gain peer mentors to advance this work more effectively, and
- increase their potential for funding
What does this mean?
Goal:
- Make significant environmental impact so health, justice, and cultures flourish
- Encourage education, research, and creativity to mobilize action locally, regionally, and nationally
- Aggregate information on mitigation initiatives and results, and share resources among and across sectors to leverage new and greater work by each signatory
This is how to align the mission-based work that museums, zoos, gardens, aquariums, and sites can already do – and that you wish to do – with the larger effort and share your successes with others.
Opportunities: everything. We design the commitments; we decide how to highlight the value of cultural institutions in this important work. Potential opportunities include:
- Discover how to scale more change
- Communicate more effectively about climate
- Find out about socially-responsible investing
- Discover the 100RE program for 100% renewable energy goals
- Share data to count greenhouse gas emission reductions (which will build a museums category in EnergyStar Portfolio Manage for LEED)
- Begin an aggregated record of species or habitat protected
Who is part of We Are Still ln?
2500 states, counties, cities, businesses, investors, colleges and universities, tribes, and cultural institutions. The list of signatories can be viewed here.
What is the Paris Agreement?
In 2015 the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN) produced what is known as The Paris Agreement also called the Paris Accord. It was adopted by 195 countries, including the US, at the 21st Council of the Parties, or COP21. According to the UN, “all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and given the grave risks, to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius. The US agreed “to achieve an economy-wide target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 per cent below its 2005 level in 2025 and to make best efforts to reduce its emissions by 28%.”
The second article of the Paris Agreement explains its purpose:
- This Agreement…aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, including by:
(a) Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change;
(b) Increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development, in a manner that does not threaten food production;
(c) Making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.
- This Agreement will be implemented to reflect equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances.