Climate Justice Edmonton* is doing what scares people in power the most: coming together.
“Alberta is uniquely positioned as a resource province,” CJE’s website states, and they’re absolutely right: Alberta leads the country in fossil fuel extraction and greenhouse gas emissions. The province makes up only 11.5% of the Canadian population, but is responsible for 38% of our greenhouse gas emissions – producing over 100 megatonnes more than the second-place province, Ontario. It is also unique in that among the top five emitting provinces in what is currently referred to as Canada, Alberta is the only one to have increased its annual emissions since 2005, reaching 256.1 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent emitted in 2021.
Climate Justice Edmonton is also uniquely positioned compared to environmental groups in other parts of the country: as an Alberta-based organization, they are going up against the nation’s most powerful polluters, and face some of the strongest resistance from governments, corporations, and fellow citizens.
Climate Justice Edmonton is a grassroots, volunteer-based organization working towards social, environmental, and climate justice. Their work supports a vision for a future that not only detaches us from fossil fuels, but that also dismantles systems of oppression such as colonialism, racism, and sexism. This also means that their work covers not only different causes, but also different levels of governance. From targeting Trans Mountain to Premier Danielle Smith to Edmonton City Council, CJE is relentless in their pursuit of a better Alberta by protecting what – and who – the people in power refuse to protect.
One of the biggest challenges within the climate justice movement itself is what Juan Vargas Alba, member of CJE and Prairies Organizer for the Climate Emergency Unit, calls “siloing” – a sentiment shared by many youth organizers across so-called Canada. There are so many activists and organizations doing climate justice work, and while that is encouraging, it comes with two main issues. Firstly, organizations are often competing for attention from politicians, media, donors, and so on. Secondly, it’s difficult to keep track of all of the work that’s being done – which leads to missed opportunities for collaboration and assistance.
This is where Climate Camp comes in.
With funding from The Youth Harbour’s Assembly Grant, Climate Justice Edmonton and the Climate Emergency Unit came together to create the first Climate Camp – a three-day gathering for both seasoned climate justice organizers and people beginning their activist journeys. 100 people from all across Alberta attended the event, which took place in October 2023. While the Camp primarily focused on skill-building workshops (such as Climate Justice 101, Art as Activism, and Non-Violent Direct Action), it was also a weekend of relationship building.
New activists found ways to join the movement, with CJE seeing a jump in membership, but the event also helped to establish a province-wide network of climate activists and environmental organizations. And it truly is province-wide – attendees came not just from Edmonton and Calgary, but rural communities like Provost and Rocky Mountain House. There tends to be a disconnect between urban and rural organizations, which is why events like Climate Camp are so crucial to building a movement that represents and advocates for people across the entire province.
To encourage rural participation, Climate Camp also assisted with the financial barriers of travel and accommodation costs – and that’s only the beginning of how they made their event accessible. Climate Camp ensured that every room had an air filter, and provided all attendees with masks and COVID-19 rapid testing kits to ensure community safety. They were also prepared to offer ASL interpretation and childcare, and while no attendee ultimately used either service, the fact that it was available shows how CJE challenges the way current power structures approach climate change.
Think of it this way: a volunteer organization with limited resources made their event safe and inclusive, no excuses. CJE doesn’t just fight for justice-based outcomes, they also operate with justice, accessibility, and equity at the centre of their organizing. In their vision of the future, the means don’t justify the ends – the means exemplify the ends. In contrast, we often hear about the barriers to making an event or venue accessible – it’s too expensive, it’s inconvenient, very few people will benefit from it, and so on. That kind of thinking prioritizes convenience and profit maximization over living beings, and it’s exactly what has brought upon disaster capitalism and the climate crisis. When faced with solutions to critical climate issues, the powers that be refuse to change their approach. They continue to fund fossil fuel extraction while claiming that it’s not practical to invest in renewable energy. They build more lanes on highways while neglecting public transportation. They build pipelines on unceded Indigenous land while they say that it’s too expensive to search for unmarked graves at former residential school sites.
Climate Justice Edmonton stands against these hypocrisies by embodying what it means to do climate justice work. Their mission doesn’t just apply to their goals for the future, but to every step along the way.
It’s safe to say that Climate Justice Edmonton has momentum. With Climate Camp 2023 behind them, they are currently supporting a campaign for a nation-wide Climate Corps, which would provide green jobs to youth across the country. They recently opened an in-person office in Edmonton where people can gather and work towards a better future. And with snow still on the ground, they are already organizing to protect Edmontonians from what will likely be another hot, smoky summer.
CJE is sending ripples through the province by increasing their capacity, connections, and campaigns. The people are stepping up where their government has failed, and Climate Justice Edmonton is leading the rally towards our collective future.
*Edmonton is located within Treaty 6 Territory and within the Métis homelands and Métis Nation of Alberta Region 4. This includes the traditional territories of many First Nations such as the Nehiyaw (Cree), Denesuilé (Dene), Nakota Sioux (Stoney), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux) and Niitsitapi (Blackfoot).
1 Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators, Environment and Climate Change Canada (2023): https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/greenhouse-gas-emissions.html
