How a New SFU Program Will Prepare You to Fight Climate Change — Equitably

Climate change has been labelled the biggest threat facing humanity, yet there’s no shortage of scientific solutions available. So, what’s stopping us from taking urgent action?

The primary reason is, of course, systemic — from institutional resistance and siloed thinking to lack of political will. But, says SFU, such hurdles aren’t insurmountable. To help professionals make the bold leap from ideas to action, SFU Continuing Studies has launched the Climate Action Certificate program.

Designed for anyone working in government, planning, engineering or other sectors impacted by climate change, the new online program offers the practical skills, knowledge and strategies needed to overcome systemic barriers and implement effective climate solutions.

“As someone who spent over 20 years in advocacy and government working to get climate action, I saw over and over again that the barriers to action are largely not technical,” says community leader and former Vancouver city councillor Andrea Reimer, who has joined the program as an instructor.

On the frontlines of climate action since the mid-1990s, Reimer has helped create groundbreaking climate policy, including making Vancouver the first major city in the Americas to commit to phasing out fossil fuels. Along the way, she says, she learned some hard lessons about how to get things done within a complex system.

“To be effective at climate action you need to understand power structures and how to navigate them,” she explains. “You need to understand systems thinking and how to effectively communicate in a complex environment.”

Most importantly, adds Reimer, you need to understand your community and who is being impacted by climate change — and make room for everyone to play a leadership role in developing and implementing solutions.

“When people are left out of climate decisions, they tend to resist,” she says. “And we no longer have time to do things wrong once and then go back to do it right.”

To ensure students have the capacity to lead this inclusive approach, the new program aims to deepen their understanding of Indigenous knowledge systems and climate justice.

“We know the climate crisis disproportionately affects the vulnerable communities that also hold the least responsibility for environmental damage,” explains Julia Denholm, dean of SFU Lifelong Learning (which encompasses Continuing Studies). “A climate solution will only work if it benefits everyone equally. That’s why we’ve developed every course in this program through a lens of climate justice.”

Courses will begin this fall and are now open for registration. Students will explore a broad range of timely topics, from the basics of climate science to climate communication skills and tools for building community resilience.

Along with Reimer, all instructors are active leaders in the climate field: Ginger Gosnell-Myers, board chair of Greenpeace Canada; Lindsay Heller, Nehiyaw scholar and SFU Fellow in Indigenous Ways of Knowing; Maya Chorobik and Pat Bell of the Community Energy Association; Dara Parker of the Vancouver Foundation; Rita Steele, manager of campus sustainability at SFU; Melina Schofield of Metro Vancouver Zero Emissions Innovation Centre; professional planner and consultant Keltie Craig; climate communications strategist Amber Bennett; and facilitator and systems change consultant Olive Dempsey.

“We’re proud to have assembled so many leading experts in the field for our instructional team,” says Denholm. “Their years of practical experience will make them an invaluable resource and support for our students as they tackle the urgent work of fighting climate change in their own workplaces and communities.”

The practitioners behind the new Climate Action Certificate at SFU Continuing Studies will share their experiences during Climate Action: Reasons for Hope, a free online event on June 26. RSVP to save your spot.