ThoughtGallery.org > Festival Albertine: Local Government & Policy Making

Festival Albertine: Local Government & Policy Making

As national governments fail to move at necessary speed, cities and towns are trying to fill the gap. New York City, the site of this gathering, is a perfect example. In the last few years it has enacted a bold ‘Green New Deal’ pledging to slash emissions from existing buildings. It has begun to work out a ‘congestion pricing’ scheme for automobiles. It has divested its pension holdings from fossil fuels. And it has sued the massive oil companies for their role in creating damages that taxpayers must now address. We’re seeing the same kinds of visionary steps from other civic leaders, including the government of Paris. Activists increasingly rely on local leaders for substantive change, if for no other reason than the power of the fossil fuel industry often does not penetrate to local levels. Is this kind of intervention widespread enough to matter? How can activists work to ensure that local governments treat the poorest and most vulnerable fairly, instead of—for instance—building dikes to protect Wall Street? And how can cities then influence decision makers at national governments and in the fossil fuel industry?











When: Sat., Nov. 9, 2019 at 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Where: Albertine
972 Fifth Ave.
332-228-2238
Price: Free
Buy tickets/get more info now
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As national governments fail to move at necessary speed, cities and towns are trying to fill the gap. New York City, the site of this gathering, is a perfect example. In the last few years it has enacted a bold ‘Green New Deal’ pledging to slash emissions from existing buildings. It has begun to work out a ‘congestion pricing’ scheme for automobiles. It has divested its pension holdings from fossil fuels. And it has sued the massive oil companies for their role in creating damages that taxpayers must now address. We’re seeing the same kinds of visionary steps from other civic leaders, including the government of Paris. Activists increasingly rely on local leaders for substantive change, if for no other reason than the power of the fossil fuel industry often does not penetrate to local levels. Is this kind of intervention widespread enough to matter? How can activists work to ensure that local governments treat the poorest and most vulnerable fairly, instead of—for instance—building dikes to protect Wall Street? And how can cities then influence decision makers at national governments and in the fossil fuel industry?

Buy tickets/get more info now