Declarations and Resolutions
CLIMATE EMERGENCY DECLARATION RESOURCES
What is a climate emergency declaration and how many jurisdictions have declared a climate emergency?
A Declaration of Climate Emergency is a piece of legislation passed by a governing body such as a city council, a county board of supervisors, a state legislature, or even a national government. It puts the government on record in support of taking emergency action to reverse global warming.
Resolutions vary around the world, with many governments including local climate impacts and new climate targets in their resolution.
As of June 2021, the Climate Emergency Movement 's data shows that 1 billion people live in a jurisdiction that has declared a climate emergency. These billion people are spread out within 34 nations, plus the 27 member states of the European Union. 23 individual national governments have made declarations.
WHAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF A REGION THAT HAS DECLARED A CLIMATE EMERGENCY AT MULTIPLE LEVELS?
San Mateo County is a region where climate declarations are taking place at different scales
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors - September 2019: The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution declaring a climate emergency in San Mateo County to highlight the increasingly urgent need for action to address the climate crisis. at that time they joined over 1,000 national, international and local jurisdictions who did the same.
San Mateo County Youth Commission - April 2020: The San Mateo County Youth Commission passed a resolution for a Climate Emergency Declaration. The intention of this first resolution was to serve as an inspiration for school communities to follow suit and pass similar declarations.
San Mateo County School Districts: From the inspiration of the Youth Commissioners, student leaders have taken action to get individual school districts across San Mateo County to declare a climate emergency. Check out the news articles about these students, and the examples below:
Feature Article from KQED - MAY 2021: “Meet the Students Who Got San Mateo County High Schools to Declare a Climate Emergency”
Feature Article from CAELI - Spring 2021: "Youth Climate Leaders: It’s Time for Everyone — Especially those in Power — to Step Up and Make the Environment a Priority"
Union High School District (SMUHSD) - APRIL 2021: San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) students advocate successfully for a Climate Emergency Declaration. Students also advocated for SMUHSD to double down on sustainability commitments within their facilities and curriculum. The resolution passed unanimously, and the district has already begun making significant strides towards sustainability and climate resiliency.
Sequoia Union High School District (SMUHSD) - JAN-APRIL 2021: In January 2021, students from Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD) petitioned their student body to gain support for bringing a resolution to the SUHSD School Board to pass a Climate Emergency Declaration. The resolution passed in April 2021, with commitments to do more for sustainability and climate resiliency. View the signed resolution and the SMCOE article featuring these changemakers: Sequoia Union HSD Students Advocate for Change.
ARE THERE TEMPLATES THAT WE COULD USE TO GET STARTED ON A CLIMATE EMERGENCY DECLARATION?
Climate Emergency Declaration Template (student version): This is a template for students groups that want to issue a Climate Emergency Declaration through the associated student body council.
Climate Emergency Declaration Petition Template: This is a template for a student petition calling for the passage of a Climate Emergency Declaration.
WHAT OTHER ORGANIZATIONS COULD WE CONNECT TO FOR SUPPORT ON A CLIMATE EMERGENCY DECLARATION?
The Climate Mobilization: The goal of this U.S. based organization is to initiate a WWII-scale mobilization to reverse global warming and the mass extinction of species in order to protect humanity and the natural world from climate catastrophe. They have sample templates.
Climate Emergency Declaration and Mobilization: The goal of this global organization is to support governments (and other jurisdictions) to declare a climate emergency and mobilize society-wide resources at sufficient scale and speed to protect civilization, the economy, people, species, and ecosystems. They also have sample templates and policy.
BOARD RESOLUTION RESOURCES
WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY/CLIMATE ACTION BOARD RESOLUTION?
A board resolution is a formal document that makes a statement about an issue that is so important that the board wants to have a record of it. They can be referenced if compliance comes in to question.
An environmental sustainability/climate action board resolutions calls for the integration of environmental/climate literacy and environmental sustainability practices across a school communities campus and operations, curriculum and instruction, community engagement programs, and overall institutional culture.
Because school/district boards, are the only elected or selected officials charged with ensuring the wellbeing and future success of children, their voice is especially important in advocating for the well-being of children and youth.
ARE THERE EXAMPLES AND TEMPLATES OF SUSTAINABILITY BOARD RESOLUTIONS?
Schools for Climate Action: This website support the efforts of a grassroots, volunteer group of students, parents, teachers, and community members working with school communities and school districts to take a stand against climate change. They have a number of examples to share. Check out their STUDENT GUIDE FOR GETTING A BOARD TO PASS A RESOLUTION.
Example Board Resolutions: This spreadsheet curated by SMCOE includes sustainability board resolution examples from California and beyond.
The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE's) Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative has developed two templates, one version for schools/districts that are just getting started and at are at the entry level, and another for schools/districts that are prepared to establish the next level of commitment.
WHAT OTHER ORGANIZATIONS COULD WE CONNECT TO FOR SUPPORT ON SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE RELATED RESOLUTIONS?
Schools for Climate Action: This website support the efforts of a grassroots, volunteer group of students, parents, teachers, and community members working with school communities and school districts to take a stand against climate change. Check out their STUDENT GUIDE FOR GETTING A BOARD TO PASS A RESOLUTION
Climate Generation: Climate Commitments - School Board Resolution Toolkit
CA School Board Association: This website has a number of resources for supporting school boards including governance and policy resources.
Congressional Resolution Example: Congressional Resolution Recognizing Children's Fundamental Rights and Climate Recovery - this resolution recognizes that our current climate crisis is disproportionately affecting the health, economic opportunity, and fundamental rights of children and youth.