On January 21, 2020, Spanish Parliament declared a climate emergency and made a promise to propose comprehensive legislation in the next 100 days. This declaration came just weeks after the approval of a coalition government including the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and Unidas Podemos, a left wing electoral alliance. The move was prompted by Barcelona’s own climate emergency declaration in which 104 carbon emission cutting measures were unveiled, and, if successful, would cut the city’s carbon emissions in half by 2030.
Spain is just one example of a country that has declared a climate emergency. In 2019, a variety of countries, cities, and organizations have declared a climate emergency as well, totaling 1,348 jurisdictions. Similar to Spain, some cities made the declaration with the hope that it will be a stark signal to their national governments. Similarly in the United States, 80 cities have declared a climate emergency including, most notably, New York City. On a larger scale, the climate movement was propelled forward when the European Parliament declared in November that they had set a goal to cut emissions by 55 percent by 2030 in order to become climate neutral by 2050.
However, while the number of places declaring a climate emergency is increasing, the next steps after the declaration are uncertain. When jurisdictions declare a climate emergency, there is a mix of different outcomes. For some places, the declaration is symbolic because it is a show of solidarity with other places and movements like the Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for the Future. Other declarations, like the one that occurred in Miami, have been in response to protests and calls of action by activists, but they have no legitimate plan in place to address the issue. For some larger jurisdictions, specific plans have been set. In Barcelona and New York for example, both have created their own versions of the Green New Deal, a proposed package of legislation in the United States. Activists consider any of these at least a step in the right direction.
Due to the fact that declaring a climate emergency has no binding aspects, those in power who make the declaration tend to make a variety of promises without a clear deadline on their delivery. In analyzing the first place to declare a climate emergency, their progress has been relatively steady. Darebin is a small city in Australia that declared a climate emergency in 2016, followed by the creation of an emergency plan that addressed a number of different sources of their emissions. Darebin’s largest source of emissions was commercial/industrial electricity followed by residential electricity. To address residential electricity, the city implemented a Solar Saver scheme in which residents were able to get solar panels installed and pay them off using a payment plan. This scheme was considered very successful, as the amount of solar energy generated in the city almost doubled in just a couple of years. Smaller steps have also been taken, such as banning plastic cutlery at city events and resurfacing local roads using recycled materials. At the start of 2020, the city also started their food waste recycling program that reduced the jurisdiction's emissions by 1,600 tonnes in the first year. While these efforts should be commended, they do very little in relation to the global issue.
Japan is suspected of producing 4 percent of the world's CO2 emissions, making it the fifth largest producer in the world, only surpassed by China, the United States, Russia, and India. There have been a handful of cities in Japan that have declared climate emergencies in hopes of influencing the national government's choices. Japan has felt a variety of effects from climate change, including heat waves that killed a thousand people in 2018, and flooding which resulted in 2 million people being evacuated in July 2018. These climate effects have been felt in coastal cities like Sakai and Hokuei, but especially in the island city of Iki, all of which have declared climate emergencies. The efforts of these smaller jurisdictions do not seem to have had an effect on the national government, as the government announced a plan to build 22 new coal power plants in the next 5 years. With coal burning being a major source of CO2 emissions, Japan's thought process comes into question when thinking about their proposed 26 percent cut of national emissions by 2030 as a part of their pledge to support the Paris Climate Agreement. Japan is just one example of the disconnect between local and national government, thereby showing how national government cooperation is the key to the success of emission reduction.
The climate movement took a major step on the global ladder when the European Union (EU) declared a climate emergency just before the United Nations COP25 Climate Change Conference. This declaration was monumental, but it also came with some drastic ideas for the majority of the continent. Based on the 1.5 degree target set at the Paris agreement, there was a call for a reduction of emissions with a focus on the aviation and shipping industries. The success of the EU accomplishing this goal is dependent on the funds that the European Investment Fund and the European Investment Bank would provide. Additionally, 75 million euros have been allocated for the BlueInvest Fund, a fund to strategically target and support the innovative blue economy working to address oceanic shipping improvements. While these ideas do hold some potential for improving aspects of the EU's emission issues, many activists worry about how much progress can really be made in such a large area with a wide array of issues.
Jurisdictions’ decisions across the world to declare a climate emergency have led to a mixed bag of results. Efforts being made on the local level can be considered successes even if they are small. The message is still very important in those places, however, whether they make major changes or not; it is time for the world to step up. The declaration of a climate emergency puts the pressure on national governments and international bodies to acknowledge the issue and treat it as the emergency it is. Progress may be slow, but it is progress nonetheless.