We are thrilled to introduce the newest member of our International Democracy Community. Climate Assembly is a movement aimed at establishing the first Climate Assembly in the USA, thereby providing a platform for direct democracy in climate change legislation.
Climate Assembly has identified a discord between the will of the people and the way in which climate policy legislation is made in the United States of America. This often leads to the polarization of American society into binary groups. It is the belief of Climate Assembly, that such disharmony is detrimental to the solving of the most pressing concern of our times namely, climate change. As a solution, it proposes the implementation of Climate Assemblies to make the voice of the people heard and provide a united front in the combating of climate change.
The movement is led by passionate direct democracy and climate activists Maxim Lowe, Johanna Lundahl and Michael Forster. Together they share vast knowledge and years of experience in promoting social involvement in matters of governance. It is their mission to return the decision-making power to the populace in climate change policy. Johanna Lundahl describes herself as follows:
"I'm a writer and a climate justice activist, living on traditional Duwamish Land in Seattle, but originally from the Willamette Valley of Oregon. I have a bachelor's degree in Geography from the University of Washington. With Climate Assembly US I work to support the expansion of democratic methods within the political sphere, taking some inspiration from a background in Food Justice activism. In my spare time, I enjoy baking bread and working on my first novel, Swirling Seas, a futuristic eco-fictional tale about a group of people struggling to understand their own history and build a more equitable world; it's also about space pirates".
Michael Forster's bio:
"I have an M.Ed. in Counseling Psych and commit civil disobedience to recover our future. I founded Climate Change for Families, co-founded 350Seattle, and helped the youth to sue Washington state in court. I also shut down the Keystone 1 pipeline: www.shutitdown.today Right now, I actively support climateassembly.us online 2020 and #RentStrike #DebtStrike #ClimateJustice #DefundPolice #AbolishPolice #AbolishPrisons"
Climate Assembly has worked with 5 committee chairs in the Washington State House of Representatives in creating awareness for the potential benefits of citizens’ assemblies around the world. In doing it is making strides towards making the first Washington State Assembly a reality. Furthermore, it is organising a webinar with the Citizen’s Climate Lobby at the end of July to further share knowledge related to Citizens’ Assemblies with other activists".
We are enthusiastic about the prospect of building a symbiotic relationship with Climate Assembly by sharing knowledge in the field of direct democracy.
