The new Climate
Narrative
A strategy
to overcome
resistance to
the ecological
transition
Despite the efforts undertaken since the Earth Summit in 1992 to protect the environment and fight against climate change, the situation has continued to worsen. It's clear that presenting environmental protection as difficult, expensive and sacrificial for the economy, mobility and comfort has not motivated many. It is therefore imperative to devise a new narrative and replace the one that has not worked in the past.
“It is imperative to devise a new narrative and replace the one that has not worked in the past. What we are calling for is no less than a revolution in the way we speak about climate action.”
Bertrand Piccard
President of the Solar Impulse Foundation
Dive into the Chapters
- 1 The importance of matching languages
- 2 Speak of Solutions, not just problems
- 3 Climate action as a vector for business opportunities and new markets
- 4 Frame decarbonisation as a consequence of modernisation, not as the end objective
- 5 Highlight savings and returns on investment, not costs and sacrifices
- 6 It’s not about future technologies but existing ones
- 7 Start with what is easy and profitable
- 8 Efficiency over sobriety and degrowth
- 9 Specify which degrowth you speak of
- 10 Quality versus quantity
- 11 New professions versus lost jobs
- 12 Diversification versus endangered sectors
- 13 Why embark on the transition if big actors continue to pollute? To gain a competitive advantage!
- 14 It’s about Humanity, not the Planet
- 15 Protect the present generation, not just the future one
- 16 Setting legal limits to irresponsible behaviours, in the environment space as in any other
- 17 Carefully choose how you name and speak about your policies
- 18 Showing is better than saying
- 19 Making the Transition as an advantage to all - from North to South
- 20 Climate urgency or economic imperative?
- 21 It’s not only about climate change, but also the hidden gains
The Glossary
In communicating about climate action, we can significantly influence general perception and acceptance if we replace certain words, like:
- Replace this by this
- Decarbonisation Modernisation
- Cost Profitable Investment
- Problems Solutions
- Crisis Opportunity
- Threatened Jobs New Professions
- Goals Road Maps
- Difficult Challenging
- Next Generations Current Generation
- Sacrifice Advantages
- Degrowth Qualitative Economy
- Sobriety Efficiency
- More Regulation Modern Regulation
- Ecological Logical
- Replace this by this
- We must act now This is how to act now
- Protection of nature Protection of the purchase power
- Climate action New business opportunities
- Protecting the planet Improving human quality of life
- Green Clean
- Long term action Short term benefits
- Expensive Allowing savings
- Closing dirty sectors Diversification
- Future technologies Existing technologies
- "Others still pollute" We can be more modern
- Quantity Quality
- Climate urgency Economic imperative
