WEBINAR | Convening, Coordinating and Collaborating for Socio-ecological Transitions: The Story of Collectivités ZéN

This webinar took place in French, with simultaneous English interpretation. Click here to access the French recording.

This webinar recording features a conversation with some of the community organizers involved in Collectivités ZéN (Net Zero Emissions Collective), an initiative bringing together organizations that are already working towards sustainable climate transitions to enable carbon neutral communities that are more just and more resilient.

Speakers:

Jorge Garza, Tamarack Institute
Carole Dupuis Front commun pour la transition énergétique
Pierre-Luc Baril, Chantier Laval ZéN
Anouk Nadeau-Farley, Grand dialogue régional pour la transition socio-écologique du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean

Click here to access the slides

Responses from Carole Dupuis to two questions from the audience:

1 - What are the winning conditions to ensure sustainability in the activities of transition movements over time?

I believe that the first winning condition is the right mix of leadership and co-creation. Let me explain. The socio-ecological transition is an immense collective challenge, probably the greatest challenge that humanity has had to face so far. It is everybody's business, but few people or organizations will dare to stick their head out of the trench and say: come with me (with us), we will do it! Someone has to take the initiative. That's what I call leadership. In order for communities to embrace change and new ways of doing things, it is essential that they build their new models themselves. This is the co-creation component.

The second winning condition, in my opinion, is inclusion. Everyone must have a place in the transformation to be made, whether they are vulnerable people, business people or fans of gasoline-powered cars. This is surely the most difficult dimension, but inclusion is essential to prevent sections of the population from being excluded or turning against change.

2- In the event of a major political response to the latest and most urgent recommendations of the IPCC, can the Front commun and the current communities accelerate the pace and ensure co-leadership?

Certainly! The socio-ecological transition requires a lot of interaction. We need to work with each person and each organization, without rushing things. We would need many more resources to be able to deploy large-scale dialogue, planning and action simultaneously. In addition, a large-scale political response would help, because right now it is very difficult to communicate the urgency to act when our governments are sending contradictory messages about it. The will of civil society and the political will are both critical for the success of a socio-ecological transition.