By John Marshall, Executive Chair, Potential Energy Coalition<\/i><\/p>\n
The wider potential consequences of the Makerfield by-election will inevitably spark a familiar debate in Westminster. What does the result tell us about voters? Have political parties moved too far on climate policy, or not far enough? Should politicians double down on climate action, or quietly retreat?<\/p>\n
Too often, debates about climate change are driven by assumptions made by political, media and business elites rather than by data. As a result, a growing conventional wisdom has emerged that climate action has become politically toxic, that voters are turning away from the issue, and that leaders should talk about it less. New research suggests the opposite.<\/p>\n
The reality is climate change is a winning issue with the public, if you talk about it the right way.<\/p>\n
I run a nonprofit devoted to educating people about climate change. We\u2019re driven solely by data, ruthlessly evaluating what narratives work, what don\u2019t, and why. For nearly a decade, we\u2019ve spent thousands of hours in focus groups, surveyed over half-a-million people, and tested hundreds and hundreds of messages. Most recently, Potential Energy Coalition, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, completed one of the largest climate opinion studies conducted in recent years, surveying more than 83,000 people across the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany and Italy. The findings reveal important truths about what matters to people, the words that deepen divisions, and the ones that can build consensus.<\/p>\n
Across all six countries, overwhelming majorities support government action on climate change. Support extends well beyond traditional progressive audiences, including among many centre-right voters and younger conservatives. In the UK, 90% of people say climate change is happening, 78% are worried about it, and 78% support clean energy solutions.<\/p>\n
Despite strong and bipartisan public support, over the past few years, a phenomenon known as \u201cclimate hushing\u201d has taken hold. Climate coverage in the media has fallen sharply from its 2021 peak. Corporate discussion of climate and ESG issues has dropped dramatically. Political leaders who once spoke openly about climate increasingly appear reluctant to do so. This retreat reflects a growing institutional assumption that climate has become too politically difficult to discuss.<\/p>\n
Part of the problem is that the language most leaders turn to does, in fact, narrow the audience. \u201cAchieving net zero\u201d ranks near the absolute bottom on the public\u2019s list of concerns. Anytime the word \u201cban\u201d or \u201cmandate\u201d is mentioned, public support drops as much as 20%. \u201cGreen jobs\u201d sound more like a promise than a reality, a \u201cmassive energy transition\u201d sounds difficult and expensive, and the scolding \u201cshoulds\u201d and \u201csacrifices\u201d of traditional environmental communication increasingly turn people off to the cause.<\/p>\n
What we need isn’t a massive shying away from the issue, but a new narrative. We can recapture momentum and broaden support if we shift the way we\u2019re telling our stories.<\/p>\n
First, we need to focus on the human and material consequences of climate change. Across all six countries, the three messages most <\/i>effective at increasing support for policy action\u2013boosting support by up to 9 percentage points in the UK\u2013centered on the everyday impacts on our health, our money, and the people and places we love. Human stories about tangible consequences beat abstract arguments every time.<\/p>\n
Second, we need to make the cause concrete: \u201cpollution\u201d reminds people climate change is a problem we can solve. Framing the challenge as \u201creducing pollution\u201d (versus the more abstract, \u201cfighting climate change\u201d) makes the problem feel 10-20% more solvable.<\/p>\n
Finally, we need to make the cure exciting. By a ratio of more than 2 to 1, people across the globe think building \u2018all or mostly clean\u2019 is a better way to meet growing demand for energy than \u2018all or mostly fossil.\u2019 Instead of focusing solely on the things we\u2019re banning and blocking, spend time on what we\u2019re building toward: more energy to affordably, securely meet rising demand.<\/p>\n
Audiences want climate action. What they reject is language that feels abstract, ideological, or disconnected from reality. As political leaders, businesses, and campaigners prepare for London Climate Action Week, they should dispense with the language of pathways, mandates, and technical targets in favor of vivid, human narratives that make the climate change consequences clear, the cause concrete, and the cure exciting.<\/p>\n
Bold leadership has never been more necessary, and the latest data shows the right leaders can win solid majorities and rescue us from this dangerous decelerating cycle of ambition. Now is not the time to shy away from climate change. Now is the time to cement a new narrative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"