Report on the Strategic Adaptation For Emergency Resilience (SAFER) Initiative

Introduction: A New Framework for Climate Action and the SDGs

A new report, “Strategic Adaptation For Emergency Resilience” (SAFER), launched by the Climate Majority Project, proposes a strategic pivot in climate advocacy. It argues for a shift from a primary focus on mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions) to “strategic adaptation.” This approach is presented not as an abandonment of mitigation but as a more effective pathway to achieving it. The framework posits that by focusing on local, tangible adaptation measures, a broader and more engaged climate movement can be built. This report analyzes the SAFER initiative through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), assessing its potential to advance goals such as SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), while also examining its strategic limitations in addressing the political and systemic drivers of the climate crisis.

The SAFER Framework: Core Tenets and SDG Alignment

The central theory of the SAFER report is that focusing on strategic adaptation can overcome public complacency and build a more powerful climate mobilization. This strategy is built on several key assumptions that align with various SDGs.

Key Assumptions of the SAFER Initiative

1. Concretizing Climate Threats: The report assumes that adaptation makes the abstract threat of climate change tangible through local, concrete actions. This is intended to counter public apathy fostered by distant “Net Zero” targets and the invisible nature of greenhouse gases. This directly supports the implementation of SDG 13 (Climate Action) by building public consciousness and agency at the community level.
2. Addressing Material Interests: SAFER aims to engage a wider demographic, including working-class communities, by addressing immediate concerns such as rising energy costs and food security. This approach directly intersects with SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 1 (No Poverty), framing climate action as relevant to everyday economic and social well-being.
3. Building a Case for Mitigation: The framework hypothesizes that as communities engage in adaptation efforts—such as preparing for heatwaves, flooding, and food supply disruptions—the immense scale of the climate crisis will become apparent. This realization is expected to demonstrate that adaptation alone is insufficient, thereby strengthening the political will for robust mitigation policies, ultimately advancing SDG 13.

Analysis of SAFER’s Strategic Approach to SDG Implementation

While the SAFER framework’s focus on material interests and local action aligns with several SDGs, its proposed implementation faces significant challenges related to inclusivity, political engagement, and the capacity for systemic transformation.

Challenges in Stakeholder Engagement and Inclusivity

An effective climate strategy must be built on broad, inclusive partnerships, as outlined in SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). The SAFER launch was criticized for its lack of representation from key constituencies, such as labor unions, working-class communities, and multiracial coalitions.

• The initial presentation featured localized projects like Retrofit Balsall Heath and Greener Henley but did not showcase a broad-based coalition essential for building a national movement.
• To succeed, the initiative must connect with communities facing profound crises in inequality, healthcare, and housing, ensuring that climate action is not perceived as an elite concern but as a core component of social and economic justice.

The Need for Political Engagement and Institutional Reform

The SAFER report’s commitment to “depolarizing” the climate issue by avoiding terms like “capitalism” or “ownership” presents a significant strategic weakness. Achieving many SDGs requires confronting entrenched political and economic structures, a core principle of SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

• In nations with privatized essential services (e.g., water, electricity, rail), addressing issues like energy affordability (SDG 7) and community resilience (SDG 11) is inherently political.
• The campaign for public, not-for-profit energy ownership in San Diego, California, serves as a counter-model. It directly confronts corporate monopoly power to lower energy prices, accelerate the renewable transition, and build local resilience, thereby integrating SDG 7, SDG 11, and SDG 16 through an explicitly political struggle over ownership and control.

From Local Adaptation to Systemic Transformation

The assumption that local adaptation efforts will organically scale up to a powerful mitigation movement is untested. The ultimate goal of SDG 13 requires a confrontation with the global fossil fuel industry and the paradigm of endless economic growth, which drives the violation of multiple planetary boundaries beyond climate change, including those related to biodiversity (SDG 14, SDG 15) and nutrient cycles.

• A successful movement must be capable of radical, systemic change, which appears at odds with SAFER’s “depolarized” framing.
• The French movement Soulèvement De La Terre (Earth Uprisings) offers an alternative model, where a central organizing body coordinates diverse, local struggles into a unified, potent political force that retains a commitment to anti-imperialist and anti-fascist principles.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The SAFER initiative provides valuable new thinking by emphasizing the importance of local adaptation in building a broader base for climate action. Its focus on community resilience and material well-being creates strong entry points for integrating multiple SDGs into the climate agenda.

However, for this potential to be realized, the strategy must evolve. The path forward requires a framework that:

• Builds Inclusive Coalitions: Actively forge partnerships with labor, low-income, and diverse communities to ensure that climate action advances SDG 10 and is built on the principles of SDG 17.
• Embraces Political Action: Move beyond a “depolarized” stance to directly challenge the institutional and corporate structures that impede progress on the SDGs, in line with the objectives of SDG 16.
• Creates Pathways for Systemic Change: Develop a clear strategy for linking thousands of local adaptation efforts into a coordinated political movement powerful enough to drive the systemic transformations needed to achieve SDG 13 and operate within all planetary boundaries.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in thearticle?

1. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • The entire article is centered on climate change, discussing the failure of mitigation efforts and proposing a new focus on “strategic adaptation” to build resilience against climate impacts like heat waves and flooding. It directly addresses the need to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   • The article highlights the importance of local, community-based actions. It mentions specific urban initiatives like “Retrofit Balsall Heath” to improve housing insulation and “Greener Henley” seeking flood protections. The San Diego campaign for public power emphasizes local energy solutions like rooftop solar, all of which contribute to making cities more sustainable and resilient.

3. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

   • The text discusses rising energy costs as a key concern for communities. It promotes solutions like retrofitting homes for better insulation (energy efficiency) and the San Diego campaign’s push for “local rooftop solar and storage” (renewable energy) and “lower electricity prices” (affordable energy).

4. SDG 2: Zero Hunger

   • The SAFER report’s approach includes transforming food systems and addressing “disruptions to food supply” as a tangible threat of climate change. This connects to ensuring food security and promoting sustainable agriculture.

5. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • The article critiques the SAFER launch for not including “anyone from the working class or unions or from the kind of multiracial coalition” needed for a broad movement. It also notes that climate action is sometimes perceived as irrelevant by working-class communities and that campaigns must connect with the material interests of people facing “profound inequality.”

6. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • A central theme is the need to build a “powerful community gathering,” a “wide coalition,” and a “mass movement of connected organizations.” The author argues for linking thousands of local communities in a common movement, which directly relates to fostering partnerships to achieve sustainable development.

7. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

   • The article critiques the “mantra of economic growth” that encourages consumption. It also implicitly addresses production patterns by criticizing record-level “fossil fuel finance and extraction” and privatized utilities that prioritize profit.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

   • The article’s main proposal, “strategic adaptation,” is entirely focused on this target. It explicitly mentions preparing for “heat waves, flooding, disruptions to food supply” and building resilience as a core goal.

2. Target 11.5: Significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and… decrease the direct economic losses… caused by disasters.

   • The example of Greener Henley seeking “protections from flooding” is a direct effort to reduce the impact of water-related disasters on a community.

3. Target 7.3: By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.

   • The “Retrofit Balsall Heath” project, which aims to “retrofit homes to improve insulation,” is a direct action to improve energy efficiency at the household level.

4. Target 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

   • The San Diego campaign’s emphasis on “local rooftop solar and storage” is a clear example of working towards this target by promoting decentralized renewable energy generation.

5. Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices… to help strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change.

   • The SAFER approach is described as aiming to “transform… food systems” and prepare for “disruptions to food supply,” which aligns with building resilient food systems.

6. Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships.

   • The article repeatedly calls for building a “wide coalition,” a “mass movement,” and linking “thousands of local communities.” The critique of the SAFER launch is that it failed to showcase such a partnership.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Level of public mobilization and awareness.

   • The article implies this indicator by stating that a core theory of SAFER is to “build a bigger climate mobilization” and “grow climate awareness.” It also notes that the “numbers engaging in rallies” are currently tiny, providing a baseline.

2. Number of communities implementing adaptation actions.

   • This is implied when the author mentions the hope that “people in hundreds of local communities who are engaged in adaptation actions in the UK do develop a wider consciousness.” Progress could be measured by tracking the number of such communities.

3. Level of investment in fossil fuels.

   • The article mentions as a negative indicator that “fossil fuel finance and extraction are at record levels.” A reduction in this metric would indicate progress towards mitigation goals.

4. Energy prices for consumers.

   • The San Diego campaign’s promise of “lower electricity prices” is a direct, measurable indicator of success for affordable energy initiatives.

5. Number of homes retrofitted for energy efficiency.

   • The “Retrofit Balsall Heath” project directly implies this indicator. Progress can be measured by counting the number or percentage of homes in a community that have been retrofitted.

6. Installed capacity of local renewable energy.

   • The promotion of “local rooftop solar and storage” in the San Diego example implies measuring the growth in installed capacity (e.g., in megawatts) of such systems.

7. Diversity and inclusiveness of climate movements.

   • The critique that the SAFER launch lacked representation from the “working class or unions or from the kind of multiracial coalition” implies that the composition of these movements is a key indicator of their potential for success and their alignment with reducing inequality.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

Source: resilience.org