Get to Know Ernesto Archila
Public Citizen News / September-October 2024
By Ashlie Alvarez Simms
This article appeared in the Sept/Oct 2024 edition of Public Citizen News. Download the full edition here.
As the Climate and Financial Regulation Policy Director at Public Citizen, Ernesto Archila is driven by a deep commitment to climate justice and the movement to fight back against corporate greed. He joined the organization in February 2024, after leading a campaign to push Wall Street banks to limit fossil fuel financing at the Rainforest Action Network (RAN). A tenacious Colombian-born New Yorker, Archila brings significant labor and human rights policy experience to his work. He holds a master’s degree in international affairs on human rights from Columbia University and served for six years in the Obama administration’s Labor Department.
Q: What inspired you to focus on climate, labor, and human rights advocacy?
Archila: Early in my career, I focused on integrating human rights into global practices, eventually shifting to labor and human rights issues. I believe that the government’s role is to regulate capitalism’s excesses to prevent unchecked exploitation. Worker power is crucial. Protecting the right to organize and demand change is essential for a functional society. For years, my work centered on safeguarding these rights and supporting workers to maintain this balance. My advocacy for climate change was inspired by Naomi Klein’s book “This Changes Everything,” which opened my eyes to the urgency of the crisis and inspired me to find a way to apply my skills and experience to the climate movement.
Q: How did your educational background prepare you for your career in advocacy?
Archila: Studying philosophy at NYU gave me a strong foundation in understanding heuristics and tools for thinking and interpreting the world. Later, I earned a master’s degree in international affairs with a focus on human rights, which deepened my understanding of the political contexts in which rights are either respected or violated, and the relationship between power, law, and norms. Over the years, I’ve learned to navigate competing work streams, prioritize imperfect choices, and understand how different incentives influence power dynamics.
Q: What are some projects that you and your team are working on?
Archila: We’re launching the Equitable and Just Insurance Initiative (EJII, pronounced “EDGY”) to bring together advocates, frontline leaders, and experts on insurance issues. This informal coalition aims to build grassroots power and amplify the voices needed at both state and federal levels to address the insurance crisis. In recent years, climate change has driven catastrophic events, challenging the insurance sector. Some companies have even exited marketplaces entirely, such as in California, leaving folks to find other alternatives. EJII builds on our team’s long standing work in federal and state insurance policy and addresses the broader systemic risks that climate change poses to the financial system.
Q: What are some misconceptions about climate change that you want to clear up? Archila: The climate crisis is not inevitable, and we are not powerless. The fundamental limitations to addressing it are found in policy, not technology. We know what needs to be done for a sustainable economy, but those in power often focus on short-term returns and concerns over long-term prudence. This makes it a challenge of policy and socioeconomics. It’s about how society prioritizes its values.
Q: How does Project 2025 fit into that?
Archila: The Project 2025 document is deeply concerning for its potential impact on the climate crisis. It threatens to undo the progress made by this administration, weaken the federal workforce’s ability to address climate change, expand unnecessary fossil fuel infrastructure, and violate Indigenous rights. Doing all of those things, it is a prescription for a financial crisis driven by the climate crisis.