Shifting and sharing power in urban climate justice work: experiments in transformative learning in Vancouver, Canada

Abstract

As the global reckoning with a changing climate increases in urgency, and the real-world consequences of delayed and inadequate action become impossible to ignore, city leadership continues to grow in response. Cities are making significant shifts in policy and regulation, investing in infrastructure, building strong cross-sectoral collaborations, experimenting with solutions, advocating for changes outside their jurisdiction, and taking other important actions. Alongside these activities is a growing critique that climate action is not adequately integrating principles and goals of justice, equity, inclusion, or decoloniality. In this article we argue that transformative learning is an underutilized theory and practice when working toward city-based just climate action. We describe transformative learning approaches and implications in running a Climate Justice Field School in Vancouver, Canada, a response to implementing the first ever Climate Justice Charter for the city. This work resulted in five transformative learning interventions for urban climate researchers and practitioners to engage with as they move toward just, equitable, inclusive, decolonial climate action.