2021 President Biden’s Climate Summit – Mayors Social Media Toolkit

April 19, 2021 - (4 min read)
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President Joe Biden’s international climate summit on April 22 and 23 will be a critical inflection point in the United States’ climate conversation. In the lead-up to the summit, city climate organizations in the U.S. are coming together to organize a coordinated communication campaign to tell stories of local city climate action and position U.S. mayors as leaders in national climate efforts.

The organizations involved include: America Is All In, C40, Climate Mayors, CNCA, ICLEI USA, National League of Cities and USDN. This social media toolkit includes several opportunities for U.S. cities to participate in the coordinated social media campaign and have your city’s local stories be promoted through the organization’s channels.

Timing

This communication campaign will take place the week of Earth Day starting on Monday, April 19th through Friday, April 23rd.

Hashtags and Handles

#EarthDay & #AmericaIsAllIn

Organizations to include: @leagueofcities @americaisallin @c40cities @climatemayors @carbnntrlcities @ICLEI_USA @theusdn

Recommendations for Cities’ Channels

Via the city or mayor’s channels (whichever has more followers and/or is easier to execute on), cities can drive engagement/attention around your climate action efforts by posting:

1. How it started / how it’s going posts:

Using the popular Twitter meme “how it started/how it’s going,” mayors can highlight climate progress made through their local initiatives. Content should aim to demonstrate innovative and visually interesting projects and transformations (e.g., streets turned into pedestrian zones/parks, industrial areas converted to urban solar farms) that demonstrate mayors’ direct contributions to city climate action.

2. Youth organization or CBO social takeover:

Invite a youth organization or CBO to take over the mayor’s or city’s Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for a day to share content about what climate action and sustainability mean to them. This content could be short videos, photos or copy that capture whatever is most compelling to that organization: equity and people-centered sustainability projects, ambitious action, resilience to extreme weather, clean air and improved health, etc. This is an opportunity to share your platform with community leaders and youth with whom your office has solid relationships and a history of collaboration.

3. Cities Race To Zero promotion

In the lead-up to the summit, partner organizations will also be working together to recruit more U.S. cities to the UN’s Cities Race to Zero campaign. We will be sending a separate Cities Race to Zero-specific toolkit to cities to help them promote the announcement among their residents and networks.

If your city decides to join Cities Race to Zero, we encourage you to use/adapt the copy below to promote your city’s commitment around the summit.

  • Cities are key to U.S. climate action, and now we need more urgent, ambitious action than ever before. That’s why [CITY] is joining hundreds of cities around the world in the #RaceToZero, a pledge to reach net-zero emissions. citiesracetozero.org
  • To meet the U.S. commitments to the Paris Agreement, cities must be the engines of a green recovery and bold, ambitious climate action. That’s why [CITY] is joining the #RaceToZero and committing to working with our national leaders to accelerate climate solutions. citiesracetozero.org
  • [CITY] is proud to officially join the #RaceToZero pledge. We are ready to deliver on a clean & equitable future for our communities and our residents. It’s time to take the bold action necessary to #RestoreOurEarth citiesracetozero.org

Confirming Your City’s Participation

If your city is interested in participating in one or more of the following activities the week of April 19th, please be in touch with your main contact at any of these partner organizations with the following information:

  • What activities your city would like to participate in
  • What days you will focus your activities
  • Main point of contact for this outreach
  • Links to posted content once live

Relevant NLC and External Resources to Uplift

NLC supporting Earth Day and US Climate Action Week

Main Point of Contact for All Partnering Organizations

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The National League of Cities (NLC) is the voice of America’s cities, towns and villages, representing more than 200 million people across the country. NLC works to strengthen local leadership, influence federal policy and drive innovative solutions. Stay connected with NLC on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

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