Climate Action Without Democracy and Justice Is Just Greenwashing

We’ve been taught to treat these issues like separate lanes on a highway—climate in the far left, democracy in the center, public safety riding the shoulder, and economic dignity somewhere in the rearview mirror.

But the truth is, they’re all part of the same journey.. One pothole throws the whole vehicle off course. One detour affects the entire map. And if we’re not steering toward justice together, we risk driving in circles—or worse, off a cliff.

The same forces that are destabilizing our climate are also eroding our democracy. The same systems that make clean energy inaccessible also underpay workers and displace communities. And the same decision-makers slashing climate research are cutting education, housing, and healthcare. 

These aren’t separate problems, and they  won’t be solved by separate solutions.

Take a look at what’s happening right now.

The Trump administration has already begun gutting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the very agency that tracks billion-dollar climate disasters and extreme weather events. According to The New York Times, longtime scientists are being pushed out, real-time data is being buried, and the U.S. is on track to lose its capacity to report disasters accurately.

Why? Because if you make the crisis harder to see, you make it easier to ignore.

This is an attack on science, our safety, our preparedness, and truth. And it’s not happening in isolation.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has:

• Fired scientists working on the National Climate Assessment
• Proposed eliminating National Parks grants focused on climate change
• Released a budget plan that slashes climate science funding at the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy, and even the Department of Defense

This is what it looks like when democracy is hollowed out from the inside and when power is preserved by dismantling the tools that help us hold it accountable.

If we care about climate but ignore voter suppression in frontline communities, we’re missing the bigger picture. If we’re fighting for clean energy, but overlooking the fact that many people can’t afford their utility bills, the solution is incomplete.If you’re sounding the alarm on wildfires, but not talking about housing or public health, we’re only telling half the story.

When the foundations that have held us together (so far) begin unraveling — politically, economically, environmentally, we have a window of opportunity to tell new stories about how all these threads connect. We can shine a light on the architecture behind the emergencies.

When we frame climate action as a fight for cleaner air and stronger communities, people relate. When we show that voting rights are also climate rights — because policies don’t pass unless the right people are at the table — we make voter suppression worth stopping. When we highlight that energy justice includes affordable bills, public transit, safe housing, and good jobs, we stop talking in silos and start talking in solutions.

This is the kind of storytelling we need now. No more doom or division. We the people and the entrepreneurs and the citizens and the local communities can lead with clarity and connection.

Why There’s Still Hope

Despite everything, here’s what keeps me going. 

• Cities are rising to the challenge. Climate Weeks around the world are emerging. Ithaca, NY is decarbonizing every building. Los Angeles is expanding free electric public transit. Local action is working and spreading.
• The green jobs movement is real. Organizations like Rewiring America are helping people train for climate careers that actually pay well and build community wealth.
• Culture is shifting. Artists and athletes are becoming organizers. From Billie Eilish and Dave Matthews Band to local creatives using TikTok, climate storytelling is becoming culture-wide.
• People are organizing and winning. From Indigenous land defenders to youth voter coalitions to mutual aid networks, people are resisting extractive systems and building new ones — not in theory, but in practice.

 How to Start Taking Action 

• Support movements working across climate, democracy, and equity: The Solutions Project | Rewiring America | Movement Generation | Climate Justice Alliance
• Share climate stories that center people and power. Use your platform — whether it’s a stage, a spreadsheet, or a dinner table — to connect the dots. Help people see the bigger picture.
• Defend science and protect truth. Contact your representatives to protect NOAA and other agencies under attack. Demand transparency and funding for climate research.
• Think local. Act local. Vote local. The climate fight isn’t just global. It’s at your city council meeting, your transit ballot, your housing policy.

We are not powerless. We have the science. We have the momentum and we have one another.  The climate movement isn’t only trying to save the planet.We’re trying to build a world where people can live, breathe, move, vote, and thrive. Let’s start telling that story.