WHO WE ARE
350Juneau is part of the international grassroots climate movement, 350.org, that works to promote a rapid and just transition to a clean energy economy in order to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. We support environmental justice: a fair and just transition to a post-carbon economy with a more equitable distribution of wealth and resources.
We work at the local, state, and national level through education, public policy advocacy, and mobilizing people to take creative and effective action. We work on systemic change: holding our leaders accountable to climate science and social justice, challenging the political and economic systems that lead to catastrophic climate change.
Alaska is ground zero for adverse climate impacts, warming at twice the rate as the rest of the country and bears responsibility for significantly contributing to the climate catastrophe through fossil fuel extraction. From threatened fisheries to Native Alaskan villages crumbling into the ocean, we are witnessing the tragic consequences of climate change on a very personal level. Alaskans understand that this is a climate emergency which requires a response that commensurates with the urgency.
The “350” in 350JUNEAU refers to 350 parts per million of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This level is the maximum level that can take place that keeps global warming to 1.5 degrees Centigrade.
Deleterious consequences increase profoundly above this level of warming. We have reached over 410 parts per million of CO2.
OUR VISION
We envision a future where international agreements and public policies at all levels of government has kept most of the known fossil fuels reserves in the ground. We envision that by mid-century, emissions from the burning of fossil fuels have reached zero, allowing natural processes in soils and forests to absorb excess carbon from our atmosphere, bringing it steadily down to levels safe for our children, grandchildren and all life on earth.
We envision a future with enlightened social, political and economic systems prioritizing renewable energy use and increasing energy efficiency while creating quality jobs in building a fossil-free economy. We strive toward a future where low-income communities are no longer disproportionately suffering from the effects of climate change and where sustaining life and meeting people’s needs take precedence over corporate profits.
WE BELIEVE IN CLIMATE JUSTICE
Climate change isn’t a distant, abstract problem — it’s here now. People all over the world are feeling the impacts, from Alaska Native villages that are going underwater to indigenous land being exploited for fossil fuel extraction. The fight against climate change is a fight for justice.
WE’RE STRONGER WHEN WE COLLABORATE
Climate change is not just an environmental issue, or a social justice issue, or an economic issue — it’s all three at once. It’s one of the biggest challenges humanity has ever faced and we are going to have to work together with other groups and movements to solve it. A solution requires building diverse, inclusive coalitions that are strong enough to put pressure on governments and stand up to the fossil fuel industry.
WE BELIEVE IN OUR COLLECTIVE GRASSROOTS POWER
By now, it’s obvious that world leaders are incapable of solving this problem on their own. We need to get out in the streets and make our voices heard, we need to pressure our leaders to act on the urgency of the climate crisis, and we need to stop the funding and subsidizing of the fossil fuel industry — that is how we demonstrate our power as a movement, and that is how we force our governments to make the right decisions. Our movement is nonviolent and empowering.
