Chapter 4: Environmental Activism and Strategies for the Green Transition

Key Messages

There are a wide range of perspectives within the environmental movement in Canada regarding the roots of environmental decline, the necessity of a Green Transition and how deeply our economic, social and political systems need to change
Mainstream perspectives held by well established, national eNGOs, that are more closely connected to government through politics and funding, are however less likely to push for transformational change to decision-making processes and policies
Newer and more ambitious perspectives challenging the status are emerging through youth and Indigenous activism, but these have ignited push-back from powerful pro-fossil fuel and ideological forces in Canada

The kind of governance approaches that best facilitate and accelerate a sustainability transition in Canada must be collaborative, including all types of activists
There are significant concerns about the ability of eNGOs to push for transformational Green Transition changes given the reliance on government funding for many of them; the eNGOs examined in this chapter receive on average 20% of their budgets from governments
Youth activists and resistance activists, though they are perhaps more committed to the Green Transition, face significant challenges: (1) they may not be able to coordinate a larger movement capable to pressing governments and (2) they may lack capacity and resources

ENGOs were successful at policy creation during the first three waves of environmentalism, but policy implementation is an ongoing struggle
The extent to which newer forms of activism will create policy and enable implementation of policy is uncertain

Established eNGOs yield significant resources and capacity, but need to distance themselves from government funding if they are to effectively push for meaningful change
Emerging activists need to be strategic and coordinated but careful in collaboration with mainstream eNGOS that are captured by government funding