The Foreign Service Journal, October 2021

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2021 31 FOCUS ON CLIMATE CHANGE DIPLOMACY Holly Kirking Loomis is a Foreign Service officer. Currently in São Paulo, she previously served as deputy director and acting office director of the State Department Climate Change Office from 2017 to 2020 and led the U.S. climate delegation to COP 25 in Madrid, Spain, in 2019. To Lead Abroad, We Must Deliver at Home U.S. climate leadership hinges on sustained domestic policies that deliver concrete results. BY HOL LY K I RK I NG LOOM I S C limate change is accelerating extinc- tions across planet Earth and reshap- ing our modern human way of life. While our economic heft and tech- nological prowess uniquely position the United States to take a leadership role in addressing climate change, our influence abroad and ability to persuade skeptical allies will ultimately depend on the actions we take at home, especially after changes in U.S. commitments to the Paris Agreement and Kyoto Protocol. To enhance trust with international partners and successfully per- suade foreign leaders (and their domestic constituencies) to take on ambitious but costly commitments, we need to demonstrate an abiding U.S. commitment and implement consistent domestic policies to achieving these goals at home. We need to connect our international and domestic climate change initiatives. As a third-generation Wisconsin farmer who wore cowboy boots and loved classic country music, my grandfather often said: “Money cannot buy clean air and water, and Mother Nature is not making new land.” I grew up amid idyllic rural Wisconsin pastures, woods, wetlands and contoured croplands along the upper Mississippi River’s driftless region, a slice of hilly and ancient land not glaciated during the last ice age. Like mine, many American communities possess a deeply rooted love of the land and the nature that enriches it. Americans are concerned and active at the local, state and regional level in protecting and sustaining the life-giving beauty of their natural surroundings, including the occupations and sports supported by the natural environment. They are debat- ing and forging durable local policies to address environmental issues; and their struggles, energy and insights should inform our international policy. Moreover, their stories can bring a new and compelling element to U.S. climate diplomacy. Addressing climate change must become a shared goal among urban, suburban and rural communities, between blue and red America, if we are to achieve ambitious and sustained U.S. global leadership for the next four, eight or 80 years. The Importance of Domestic Buy-In Our foreign policy is strongest when it reflects our heterogene- ity as a country while also garnering buy-in from diverse groups. In formulating and articulating our international climate policy,