How to Start a Climate Cafe
Exciting! It is great to see you found our ‘how to’ page and are thinking about starting a Climate Cafe. The best way to get started is just to learn a little of the basics.
Beginnings of Climate Cafe®:
Climate Cafes started with Jess Pepper in 2015. Jess (bio below), like many of us, recognized the need to talk about climate change in a way that brings people together. The first Climate Cafe was in a village in Scotland in 2015, but the energy soon grew. Climate Cafe became a network of Cafes first within Scotland, then internationally. Jess Pepper is the Founder and Director, and the central website is here: Climate Cafe®.
What is Climate Cafe?
Climate Cafes can look like a big group that organizes speakers and events, or it can look like a small village effort with homemade cakes to encourage clean transportation. The core components of Climate Cafe are that it usually rises from an affinity group (a town, an organization, a church, or a civic group). It is intergenerational, inclusive, diverse, respectful and welcoming. It offers a chance for people to gather for meetings or events that they plan and enjoy together. It is flexible! A Climate Cafe may meet monthly, or it might meet only for certain events. A Climate Cafe might be in-person, or virtual, or both.
How do I get started?
First, learn a little more by visiting the main page: Climate Cafe®. Then, reach out to Jess Pepper through the Climate Cafe page and ask to learn more. If you are a faith group, or within the US, feel free to reach out to me, also, I will be glad to help answer questions and get you connected.
How did this Cafe, the Climate Cafe Multifaith’ come about?
The Climate Cafe Multifaith is one Climate Cafe of many in the Climate Cafe® network. The Climate Cafe Multifaith came about when I connected with Jess Pepper before COP26. I loved the concept, and the memorable name as well. Our first conversations were during the pandemic shut downs, so I wanted to create a virtual space for people of faith to gather together. Faiths4Future was interested also in getting conversations together and working toward climate action. Jess helped us get started, and the Climate Cafe Multifaith launched in April of 2020.
Who is Jess Pepper?
Jess Pepper founder and director of Climate Cafe®, an international network of people engaging conversations about climate, environment, community, and the planet in local groups, peer groups, virtual groups, and just about anywhere a group of people want to get together to learn, grow, and make a difference. Jess is a Climate Reality leader was a coordinator for Climate Reality UK for COP26. Since founding Climate Café in 2015, she now supports and connects Climate Cafés globally. She works in sustainable transport and the Climate Emergency Summit series, as well as supporting community climate action. She lives in Scotland, sits on the board of the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland coalition, is an honorary fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.