The  Climate Collectiva began out of Southwest Workers Union as the City of San Antonio engaged in passing the first Sustainability Plan in 2015 addressing climate, food, health, and transportation. Our goals as an organization were to create a broad cadre of leaders educated on how climate change was an inter-sectional issue. We hosted roundtables, canvased the neighborhood, mobilized residents to open houses, and working directly with policy makers to expand the vision of sustainability to include multiples issue areas and to integrate community led solution with in the plan.

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The sustainability plan was the first step in creating accountable spaces that would minimize pollution, regulate oil and gas, and transition the city from fossil fuels. A direct follow up included the Climate Action & Adaption plan addressed in creating a transition from fossil fuels that addresses the historical biases and current inequities within climate change locally.

 

Historically, we work around environmental justice in San Antonio and nationally. The success of our program has lead towards the clean up of a former military base, policy around healthy communities and climate planning, green spaces, jobs training programs, access to good & fresh food, and many more. The biggest victory has been nurturing a base of knowledgeable members speaking for themselves on issues most important to them.

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In 2020 Climate Colectiva became a partnership between Centro por la Justicia and Southwest Public Workers Union. Both organizations have a long history of engaging communities directly in decisons concerning their lives. We continue to work on the ground to advance climate justice and environmental justice in Texas.

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