Setting Climate Change Solution Priorities with Project Drawdown’s Elizabeth Bagley
One thing we love about working with our diverse group of Mighty Partners is it allows us to support a wide range of climate solutions. This is key because to reach drawdown—the tipping point when greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere start decreasing—we must work on all aspects of the climate equation, stopping sources of carbon emissions and supporting sinks as well as helping society achieve broader transformations. Project Drawdown, however, is a unique Mighty Partner. Instead of centering on a single narrow niche, Project Drawdown is also looking at the picture as a whole. In fact, we used their framework and solutions library to inform our own strategy and priorities as we support an array of other more narrowly focused organizations. We chatted with Project Drawdown’s Managing Director Elizabeth Bagley to get a look behind the curtain at the world’s leading resource for climate solutions.
The Diversity Approach
The mission of Project Drawdown is succinct: “to help the world stop climate change—as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.” But to get there, Project Drawdown’s impacts couldn’t be more broad. By working with people ranging from community changemakers to philanthropists to investors and corporate leaders, they’re accelerating the adoption of climate solutions worldwide on all levels. As managing director, Bagley guides Project Drawdown’s overall strategy and keeps programs and operations functioning smoothly across the organization.
With joint doctorates in environment & resources and educational psychology, Bagley has a background in education and climate workforce development. She’s worked as a naturalist in Glacier National Park, taught middle and high school science in Louisiana, created K–12 professional development programs for teachers, and designed a science communication course for graduate students. She often speaks about climate solutions, including creating courses for LinkedIn which have engaged tens of thousands of learners from around the world. Her own connection between science and communication dovetails with Project Drawdown’s strategy of diverse approaches.
“Any big problem I've faced is best solved by a diversity of opinions and approaches and lived and shared experiences. I think that's one of the things that's so unique about Project Drawdown,” she says. “It's that weaving together of everyone making their job a climate job, bringing climate change solutions into all of our jobs that will get us to the space that we need to be in to stop climate change.”
To hit all the necessary aspects of the climate equation, Project Drawdown deploys three main strategies: Advancing effective, science-based climate solutions and strategies; fostering bold new climate leadership; and promoting new narratives and voices. Their team works remotely all across the U.S.—Bagley herself based in Sitka, Alaska—and comprises a deeply varied array of experiences and expertise.
The Power is in the People
Bagley’s perspective—and the strategy of Project Drawdown in general—is realist, but optimistic. For example, she points out that climate change is bound to the laws of physics, something we simply can’t change. However, we as humans do have the potential, even obligation, to reimagine what our systems—say, the food system—should look like from an equitable, science-based standpoint. “Those are human-designed systems that need to be redesigned by humans,” she says.
For Project Drawdown, that means uplifting and including everybody in this next chapter of life on Earth, she says. “Our Stories program in particular works with underserved communities and BIPOC leaders to elevate their voices because so often, especially in marginalized communities, they are bearing the brunt of climate change. Also, they are leading in so many ways, but their stories aren't heard. So when we think about people, we think about uplifting stories, we think about also identifying the solutions.”
Part of identifying solutions is also knowing who and how those solutions need to be implemented—another people-oriented focus. For instance, truly decarbonizing will require more people who are electricians, more offshore wind turbine installers. The bottleneck is almost always people, Bagley says. “When I think about why people are important, it's because they will power the transformation that we need to see happen to stop climate change as quickly, safely and equitably as possible.”
The People Behind the Three-Pronged Approach
To execute on Project Drawdown’s three key strategies, their team comes from diverse backgrounds. Their scientists work on advancing scientific solutions and strategies, both by doing research and communicating their work to a broader audience than typical PhD research papers could reach. A second group works on building bridges to the business community, applying science-based solutions as they reach out to the philanthropic world and impact investors. The third group focuses on changing the narrative as a whole from doom and gloom and despair to hope and possibility, including marketing and communications specialists and community organizers. “They're able to tell the stories and find the insights from the science that meet the audiences where they're at and help the audiences take that next step,” Bagley says. “So my role is I get to look across and weave together all of the different strands for our strategic plan and for me, that weaving is really rewarding.”
Prioritizing Investment, Teaching Solutions
Climate change solutions are so varied and widespread, it can be overwhelming to think about. Especially if you’re an investor. So one of the most important aspects of Project Drawdown’s work is in digging into the “what first” question. The recently launched Capital Coalition helps guide philanthropy and impact investing to which solutions are most timely and geographically relevant. For example, a nature-based solution like planting trees is important, but because it’s going to take 10 years or more to have an impact, it’s a less timely solution than plugging a methane leak today. Another aspect of the Capital Coalition is a focus on aligning solutions more to geography since many solutions only work in specific places.
In addition to the Capital Coalition, Project Drawdown has recently stepped up educational resources. Seeing a dire need in 2020 when much of learning shifted online, they realized many educators could teach about the problems of climate change but lacked the knowledge to teach the solutions. In 2021 they launched their Climate Solutions 101 Series, and in 2023 came up with a Drawdown Roadmap Series pointing to which climate actions governments, businesses, investors, philanthropists, community organizations, and others should prioritize to make the most of our efforts to stop climate change.
Bringing it Back Home
Even as Project Drawdown continues to connect the dots for climate change action around the globe, Bagley says to keep her morale up it’s also important to keep an eye to what’s going on locally. While she gets charged up working with her team and talking with funders, she also relies on her locally oriented action and connections to keep her sane when climate change headlines can feel overwhelming. Her role on the Sustainability Commission in Sitka, and on the board for her local science center keep her eyes on nearby progress. “Those local actions inspire me because I can see the change, when it's such a big problem and it's intractable,” she says. “Taking steps at the local level and also building relationships with other humans who care about some of the same things and shared values, that really brings me a lot of hope.”
Follow Project Drawdown’s strategy, including executive director Jonathan Foley’s recent TED Talk “The Climate Solutions Worth Funding—now” at drawdown.org.
