Visiting Professor John Clinton Shares Project: Leveraging "We Are Still In"

By Greg Stewart

On February 8th, John Clinton conducted an informational presentation at The New School about his project, Leveraging “We Are Still In.” This project is an emerging network of partnerships related to climate action.In December of 2015, the United Nations met in Paris to reach an international agreement and plan to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, the outcome is a treaty now known as The Paris Agreement. This international effort to develop sustainable initiatives stands as a historical moment for humanity’s goal towards a greener planet. In June of 2017, President Trump claimed that the United States was going to pull out of the Paris Agreement. Directly after this decision was announced, many universities, businesses, and individuals took a stand to assert that "We Are Still In" the Paris Agreement. It has grown into a movement, and many of these individuals have taken the onus upon themselves to abide by the emissions guidelines set by the agreement.John Clinton, Visiting Professor in the Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management at Milano has jumped on board with this movement in order to solidify solutions towards a greener planet. He has done this by creating a national climate change partnership network, known as Leveraging “We Are Still In.” Dr. Clinton has connected with a variety of individuals in higher education as well as the private and public sphere and asked them how they were working on sustainability initiatives. Individuals in this network began to exchange information several months ago about their efforts to address communities' climate-related priorities. In the coming months, plans are underway to intensify collaboration through multi-site online conversations and a range of activities. John Clinton’s efforts have largely been based out of the university sphere and the non-profit world. Since initial outreach efforts in September, he has connected with 27 institutions nationwide. At this point in the project, he has developed a Steering Committee of ten individuals who will help direct the project towards tangible results. With advice and guidance from these individuals, the organization will seek to refine its strategy and develop additional programming to increase and enhance support and amplification of community-engaged higher education climate work. Greg Stewart is a Master's student in the Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism program. He writes for Ragazine.cc, archives for The Believer Magazine, and does interviews for Slice Literary Magazine blog. He expects to graduate in December of 2018.