If we want to solve climate change, we need to be strategic.
Our primary focus has been on policy over people; facts over emotions; opinions over action; and power over empowerment. It’s not that we’ve been doing it wrong, Solving climate change needs government leadership, sound science, and all our combined resources to implement the solutions. It’s just that we’re not starting from the right place.
Strong movements work together to connect with people’s values and concerns. They find solutions people want, which helps build commitment and a strong social mandate. A strong movement empowers an unstoppable momentum for change, and the processes and expertise to get there. A strong social mandate supports the science and policy that will lead to solutions that will help both the climate and people.
The first step on the path to success is to redesign our movement for success.
We may be a diverse global movement with diverse views and opinions, yet, at the heart, we share common values, vision, and principles. It’s what binds us together.
Finding values, a vision, and principles that we can all get behind is the foundation for a social movement. They are a big tent, big enough to shelter all who work for a better future, but strong enough to keep out those who would work against us.
This is the starter set proposed for connecting all of us within a climate movement, and for connecting the climate movement with other social causes and aspirations.. They can be shaped over time by the movement.
Our theory of change starts and ends with people, and with forging a social mandate for leadership and action.
An unshakeable social mandate, expressed through our values, voices, votes, and actions, will lead to a universal commitment to leadership from governments and companies, thereby empowering process to develop integrated solutions and pathways to success that will result in solutions people want, which in turn will reinforce the social mandate.
PERSONAL VALUES
SOCIAL VALUES
Compassion: We care, for each other and the planet.
Commitment: We act, each of us to the best of our abilities.
Community: We help each other.
OUR CLIMATE VISION
We seek a future that is net-zero, resilient, and better.
OUR BROADER SOCIAL VISION
We seek a future that is healthy, resilient, and better.
LISTEN. LEARN. LEAD.
Consult with people in order to find solutions people want, and need. Act on the science and research.
PUT PEOPLE FIRST
Plan for a future that gives people hope, around the world. Find solutions with social benefit.
SHOW LEADERSHIP
Provide a vision of the future we want. Lead and act in accordance with our roles and capacity. Empower others to lead and act in acordance with theirs.
BUILD CONNECTIONS
Collaborate with, and support each other. Link climate solutions to other goals.
PLAN SMOOTH TRANSITIONS
Seek solutions and pathways that minimize social and economic disruption and support a smooth transition to the future we want.
BE PROACTIVE
Invest now in the technology and infrastructure to support a smooth, voluntary transition. Reward leadership.
The overall goal for a climate movement is to empower climate leadership, innovation, and action. The movement goals reflect the process through which effective and meaningful solutions can be developed and implemented,
FOUNDATIONAL VALUES: connect caring for our climate within broader social values of caring for each other and the planet.
SOCIAL COMMITMENT: secure social commitment to climate leadership and action in our voices, votes, and actions.
LEADERSHIP: secure universal commitments to leadership by governments and companies
PATHWAYS: develop meaningful transition pathways and plans with widespread engagement and collaboration.
SOLUTIONS PEOPLE WANT: deliver effective and integrated solutions consistent with our goals and adaptive to social priorities and desires.
Values, vision, and principles matter. They are the foundation for dialogue, finding common cause, and finding a pathway forward to a better future that benefits us all. They may evolve over time, or for specific applications, but in building a movement, it is important that we all share a common starting point.
If not these, then those who work on foundational values need to collaborate in developing a common statement that can support a truly global movement.
This site contains ideas you can adapt and use in your work to support climate leadership and action. All ideas are free to use under a Creative Commons 0 licence. They are ideas, nothing more. Feel free to adapt and adopt, and to suggest other ideas for a stronger climate movement.
Some poster designs have a hashtag to identify the designer. Feel free to contact them for more information on their work.
