By Katie Huffling, RN, MS, CNM, FAAN

When a small group of nurses first got together nine months ago to strategize how we could harness the collective power of nurses to address climate change, we had no idea what changes 2020 would hold for the nursing community. We were excited for the Year of the Nurse and Midwife and Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday. What better time to bring nurses together to address climate change, one of the most pressing public health challenges we currently face?

Still the most trusted profession.

Now here we are midway through 2020 and the world seems completely different, with much of the globe still in quarantine as we battle COVID-19. But one thing hasn’t changed, and in fact the response to the pandemic has only made it more apparent to the world: nurses truly deserve the title of the most trusted profession. We are now in the spotlight, showing the exceptional professionalism, caring, and passion that are hallmarks of our profession. It is these qualities we are hoping to harness with the new initiative, Nurses Drawdown. If we can be leaders in responding to the global pandemic, nurses can be leaders in supporting solutions to climate change.

Nurses around the globe are invited to participate in Nurses Drawdown. The initiative is based on the science of Project Drawdown, a “research organization that reviews, analyses, and identifies the most viable global climate solutions, and shares these findings with the world.”

Nurses Drawdown invites nurses from all specialties and in all settings to take action in five key areas:

  • ENERGY: Supporting a clean energy future by promoting energy efficiency and advocating for a transition to renewable energy
  • FOOD: Committing to eat a more plant-based diet, promoting the use of clean-burning cookstoves, and reducing food waste
  • GENDER EQUITY: Supporting education for girls and access to family planning
  • MOBILITY: Promoting walkable cities, including improving bike infrastructure and mass transit
  • NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS: Planting trees and protecting forests

On the Nurses Drawdown website, we provide many examples of ways nurses can take action. These actions range from activities for nurses just starting to take action on climate through activities for nurses who have engaged in climate solutions for years. We hope you will find these ideas inspiring and engaging!

We want to hear from you. If you sign up on the website, we will send you more ideas a couple of times a month and will be wanting to hear from nurses around the globe about the actions you’ve committed to take and what has worked (or hasn’t).

Nurses from every continent.

In the video above, which was produced for the Nurses Drawdown launch, nurses from almost every continent talk about what inspires them to climate action and invite you to join them!

We already have close to 1000 nurses signed up and almost 20 nursing organization partners! (If you are a member of a nursing organization that would like to become a partner, they can sign up here.)

Please join us as we transform the global climate movement. There is hope and courage when we work together for a better future for all!

Katie Huffling, RN, MS, CNM, FAAN, is the executive director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments

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