Less Is More: Uncovering the story of a self-governed climate campaign

What is it about?

Efforts to reduce carbon emissions mainly focus on government policies and regulations as ‘indirect’ ways of climate management. However, no authority has the jurisdiction to regulate the day-to-day activities that contribute to significant carbon emissions. This study tells the narrative of a voluntary campaign in China's Dongping Lane, whose efforts have received widespread recognition despite its ‘low-profile’ status. The campaign was led by a group of retired community residents who believe that climate change is the moral responsibility of a country’s citizens and was created with the goal of adopting household behaviours that would lead to a ‘low-carbon’ life. The community-based programme encourages people to make small adjustments in their daily lives, such as eating less meat and barbecued food, taking public transportation, and using less air conditioning to protect the environment. The idea is to promote ‘community building’ while participating together in activities that mitigate climate change. Though it is popular, the campaign does not fairly align with people’s busy schedules, and inevitably excludes those who do not feel inclined to engage in the suggested activities, as well as certain segments of society, such as schools and politicians, to avoid confrontations from moral jurisdiction.

Featured Image

Photo by Juan Encalada on Unsplash

Photo by Juan Encalada on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The Dongping Lane campaign stands out because of community participation. Though it was not publicised, presumably to avoid attracting political attention, the campaign has received much media attention. Other communities could learn from this campaign and focus on building sustainable practices. Such microstructural changes in society, where everyone contributes in their own way, could lead to bigger accomplishments in mitigating climate change. KEY TAKEAWAY The campaign attempts to invoke a sense of realisation among ordinary people and encourage them to curb climate change while ’beginning at home’, without throwing itself in the limelight.