As COP29 begins in Azerbaijan and headlines around climate doom continue to dominate, Georgia Earing looks at how we can stay optimistic and engaged in the climate debate.
COP29 kicks off this week, and as always, there’s a lot of pressure on whether these discussions and agreements will actually live up to all of the expectations. Especially when the planet is heading rapidly into the Age of Extinction.
Headlines are filled with scary statistics and we’re bombarded with messages that we’re on our way to ‘shattering’ Earth’s natural limits. Not to mention the return of a US president who promises to withdraw from global climate agreements…It feels like we’re on a journey of no return. And it’s not nice.
Of course it is so important to communicate the very real and very negative impacts of climate change that are already being felt by communities around the world. Most recently we’ve seen the horrific devastation of flooding in Valencia, and what happens when natural disasters strike with little warning and no plan in place to respond.
“Every single fraction of a degree of warming we prevent is lives saved – especially in the Global South. It’s never too late.” – Mikaela Loach, Author of It’s Not That Radical
While discussions by the world’s government officials go on, it’s easy to feel powerless and unsure of what we can do, especially as we see the reality of more frequent extreme weather, rising sea levels and biodiversity loss. However, staying engaged with climate change conversations is a crucial part of not only understanding the issues of climate change but inspiring meaningful action for everyone.
By following and keeping up with credible sources for climate news including reputable news outlets, scientific organisations such as the United Nations and NGOs we can learn the facts and better understand the science as well as potential solutions.
We can all do with a generous dose of good news too. Acknowledging the bad, but also seeking out the positive news stories around the world is important for our well-being. Did you see that in Switzerland, a group of women who challenged their government’s climate inaction have been successful in winning a landmark climate case to expand the scope of human rights protections?
One of the most powerful tools we have is conversation. Talking about climate change and making it a part of your everyday life by sharing your thoughts, worries and hopes is a great way to engage and connect with others on the subject. Whether this be with your colleagues, friends or family. We can normalise talking about climate change as part of our every day and we might just encourage and inspire each other to take action. This goes for people and brands.
The way we engage with and communicate about climate change should empower us to make change and do better. We need activists, campaigners, artists and scientists (such as our clients, the Climate Crisis Advisory Group) who are talking about the bad to demand action for a better world. However, we definitely shouldn’t discount the importance of hope, connecting with our community and believing in the possibility and opportunity for change.