Queers X Climate join the Climate Action Summit!

We are excited to share that our initiative has officially joined the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) 2019 Climate Action Summit’s.

During the preparatory meeting for the Summit for indigenous people, celebrated on 2nd and 3rd of September in México City, our coordinator, Diego de León, was able to meet with the UNSG Special Envoy for the Summit, Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba. During the encounter, Diego presented the initiative, and handed the written pledge of the organization and its members to measure their carbon footprint, and reduce CO2 emissions 50% by 2030.

The Special Envoy gratefully received the documentation, and encourage the members of Queers X Climate to engage in further ambitious action.

This is a significant step of our collective efforts, and will help us sheep light to the work that is being implemented by our members. Our commitments are now officially global commitments.

Background information

On September 2018, the UN Secretary-General called countries to engage in more ambitious climate action. The call was based in the findings of the Integumental Panel on Climate Change, that show that national pledges will only limit the increase of global average temperature by 3ºC. However, in order to prevent an irreversible change in our global climate system, we need to limit the increase of temperature by 1.5ºC by 2030 and became carbon neutral by 2050.

More on the UNSG Climate Action Summit: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/

More on the Preparatory Meeting for Indigenous People: https://www.gob.mx/inpi/es/articulos/representantes-de-pueblos-indigenas-del-mundo-se-reunen-para-definir-acciones-de-adaptacion-y-mitigacion-de-los-efectos-del-cambio-climatico?idiom=es

Why should the LGBT+ community especially care about climate change?

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

History has shown that vulnerable communities are the ones to be in largest danger of being further marginalized during a crisis, and the group of people who carry the heaviest burden. In the case of climate change, this is arguably the single most dangerous threat ever faced by humanity. All the development accomplishments, including the achievements on LBTQ+ rights, could be erased within barely a decade by exacerbating resource scarcity and social unrest.

Acknowledging that there is still progress to be achieved, it is important to recognize that the LGBT+ movement has significantly advanced in the last couple of decades. This has been the result of a cohesive organization, where leading activist have been able to effectively coordinate to reach high levels of social and political influence. Nevertheless, all the development accomplishments, including the achievements on LBTQ+ rights, could be erased within barely a decade by exacerbating resource scarcity and social unrest.

The economic importance of the LGBT+ on climate change

Photo by Angela Compagnone on Unsplash

According to an article written by reported Jeff Green (2016), the collective purchasing power of the LGBT community in the US rose to $917 billion usd in 2015. A similar study conducted by Fernanda Celis (2017), found that the Mexican a LGBT market represents an additional $65 billion usd opprtunitity. In perspective, according to the New Climate Economy (2014), we only need $3.8 billion USD in sustainable infrastructure up to 2030 to prevent an irreversible change in our global climate system. It is important to note that both article coincide that, it has been the progress achieved in LGBT rights, what has helped increase the visibility of this community's purchasing power.

As a result, corporations have started to implement larget and more frequent efforts to further attract the investment of this community. This can be easily demonstrated on how brands have become much for active in selling goods and services through marketing schemes that highlight in same-sex content.

Nonetheless, despite the economic, political and social success of the LGBT activism, this group has been greatly absent on climate action. There has not been significant efforts to specially target the attention of LGBT+ members towards environmental consciousness, and their voice is usually missing during key climate negotiation and debates.

Taking into account the massive impact that LGBT potential investment on sustainable solution, it is critical that in the next decades this community engage in climate action, particularly on the sectors that have benefited the most such as fashion, tourism, and technology.