What is Transformative Climate Action?

August 31, 2023

School of Environmental Studies professor Kara Shaw, whose teaching and research focus on the social and political dynamics of climate change, is the Director of the new Certificate in Transformative Climate Action.  Here she explains this new program, offered by UVic's Continuing Studies and the School of Environmental Studies.

Can you explain why you thought it was important to create a program like the Transformative Climate Action certificate?

The pressing challenges posed by climate change are becoming painfully real to people all around the world. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasized two crucial things in their report last year: first, we need to act urgently to address these challenges—what we do in the next decade will have profound impacts for at least the next century—and second, there are proven, realistic solutions we can implement now. Often, we only hear the first part of that—the need to act urgently—and not the second, and this contributes to an emerging epidemic of climate anxiety.

I see this anxiety all around me in my teaching and my work with communities. But right alongside it I see an overwhelming desire to act: people want to know what they can do to contribute to building safer, more resilient and flourishing communities in the context of a changing climate. The Certificate in Transformative Climate Action arose to meet this need.  The challenges posed by climate change are complex, so we need programs that focus on and engage this complexity in realistic, action-focused ways.

In particular, as the IPCC emphasized, what we urgently need now are people who are skilled at developing and advancing social and political change. It’s not a lack of technological options that is keeping us from acting, but a failure to understand and mobilize social and political change. This is where the social sciences and humanities have so much to offer, so creating a program where we can focus on the social and political dynamics of change—in the context of a solid understanding of the science of climate change and technological solutions—is essential.

The best antidote to climate anxiety is climate action, and there is an overwhelming desire across society for pathways to climate action: this program is fundamentally designed to meet that need. Building this program—engaging with and learning from so many amazing professionals, researchers, academics, policymakers, activists, and educators—has been the way that I have navigated my own climate anxiety.

Engaging with others who share your concerns and have so much to offer to building effective action is tremendously hopeful and exciting. We all need engaged communities to learn, reflect, share successes, and catalyze climate action. My goal is for this program to offer a space like this to all who participate, whether they are students, instructors, guest speakers, community partners, or collaborating organizations.

Why is it important to offer TCA through Continuing Studies as a certificate?

There are several exciting things that the collaboration with Continuing Studies makes possible. Maybe most importantly, it makes the program more accessible: in addition to current UVic students, there are people who can’t stop everything to come and study—maybe they work full time, or live in a remote community, or have family obligations—yet they have both a desire to advance climate action and important and diverse life experiences and skills. Developing this program in a primarily online format (with optional in-person components) means that we can be so much more accessible to these folks: no matter where they are living or what their schedule is, anyone who meets the minimum requirements can take this Certificate. 

Crucially, this accessibility benefits the program: we need climate action that is developed by diverse people and is responsive to a wide range of contexts and experiences.  So having this diversity present in the classes supports the learning, ensuring that it is relevant to the realities in which people are already living. It is hard to learn the skills of building effective climate action unless we are doing that with real-world diversity around the table—engaging non-traditional students strengthens the learning experience for all of us. 

Finally, building TCA with Continuing Studies also supports the interdisciplinary and action-oriented focus of the program. Environmental Studies has a long and strong collaboration with Continuing Studies through our Restoration of Natural Systems programs, and through this we’ve learned how to design classes to offer a distinctive learning experience to students. Classes are shaped not by disciplinary norms but by the problems we seek to address; this allows us to draw on many disciplines simultaneously, always guided by the challenge of developing solutions that work in the real world. This action-orientation keeps us on our toes: we have to stay current with practices in the field, always be learning from those who are on the ground doing the work as well as from current research, and ensuring that students emerge from classes ready to make positive change.

There is also a micro-credential associated with TCA, can you explain that a bit more?

TCA is a for-credit certificate that requires three core courses and four electives. That’s a pretty big commitment! To expand the accessibility and encourage people who want to understand the foundations of climate action but maybe don’t want to tackle that much, we created a micro-credential in Climate Action Planning. This micro-credential is a non-credit offering that includes just the three core courses from the certificate. It’s a great option for folks who aren’t interested in university credit but who want to build their expertise in climate action. The in-class experience will be identical for credit and non-credit students—they will complete the same assignments, receive the same feedback, and be evaluated the same way. And if they want, they can go on to take more TCA courses afterwards.

One advantage of the micro-credential is that it is eligible for the Stronger BC Future Skills Grant, which offers up to $3,500 to cover the cost of the program.  

What is your hope and measure of success for the first year of the program?

My hope for this first year is that students emerge from TCA courses capable of engaging immediately and effectively in collaboratively designing and implementing climate action in their own communities, workplaces, and organizations. I hope that students emerge inspired to act and well-connected to broader communities that support this action—their own learning cohort, organizations they may have collaborated with in the program, and communities they may have already supported through their coursework. I hope that this program generates momentum for climate action that in turn supports just, thriving, and resilient communities long into the future. 

How is TCA related to the Human Dimensions of Climate Change program?

The Human Dimensions of Climate Change (HDCC) program was well ahead of its time in its focus on the social dynamics of climate change, and TCA seeks to build on its successes while dramatically increasing its reach. The TCA program introduces a wide range of new courses that current HDCC students can use towards their HDCC credential. Alternatively, any student who has already taken HDCC classes can use these towards a TCA certificate.

My goal in building this program has been to support the spirit of HDCC, so students who have enjoyed those classes in past should find lots to like in TCA offerings. I also hope that as we make it easier for a wider variety of students to take these classes, we can further expand our reach and impact: we need to build broad and diverse communities of change, and to do this we need input from students across all disciplines and from all kinds of communities. 

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