If we view climate action as a movement driven by social demand, then our theory of change begins with creating a strong, unassailable social mandate. This, in turn, translates into the political and corporate leadership in developing solutions people want, and then those solutions will help reinforce the social mandate.
Ideally, we want to see climate health as a deep-rooted and unassailable soclal value. At that point, the debate is no longer “if” we should act, but “how.”
Calling all climate thinkers: help design a new approach to securing climate commitments and action.
The traditional approach to securing a climate mandate involves a lot of uphill selling. Can we design a better theory of change and pathways to climate leadership and action that integrates social benefit with climate action?
For those of you who are active in the climate movement, can you integrate a social benefit and social mandate model into your campaigns and strategies?
The UN Sustainable Development Goals: Long before the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, the United Nations was working on an integrated approach to a sustainable future. Climate Action is #13 of 17 goals for a healthy planet and healthy peoples.
Integrated community planning: Several planning models over the past few decade have emphasized intelligent and elegant solutions to complex concerns at the community level. Health communities, smart growth, and mutual aid are examples.
Progressive societies: While not perfect, there are many examples of national and subnational jurisdictions that already have a deep social and cultural commitment to people and the environment.
Here’s ten steps to climate action, based on developing a deep-rooted, long-lasting social mandate for climate action.
There are two stages: Foundation, and Action.
If there is already a strong social mandate for leadership and action, and a common vision in your jurisction, you can start at step 5.
On the other hand, if you are in a jurisdiction where you are struggling to gain traction, you may need to start with building a foundation of support based on common values and a vision.
Ask the right questions
If we want to build a stronger climate movement, the first challenge is to learn to think like a movement. But what does that even mean?
When we all are nose-to-the-grindstone in our own corner of the movement, local or global, it can be hard to see how we can build a stronger and unstoppable movement.
Stand back for a moment, and we can ask ourselves some of the important questions that may be beyond our personal control but that are essential for our success. Questions like:
If we do not ask the right questions, how can we hope to find the right answers?
Change begins and ends with people
What if we look at climate action as a social movement as well as an environmental one?
Everything starts and ends with people, so how can we connect climate action with social values, concerns, and desires — locally, regionally, and globally?
If we find, and market, solutions people want, then the pressure for government and business leadership will be that much stronger, and it will inform and support our ability to plan a smooth transition.
Promote social values that support climate action
If our neighbour’s house burnt down, or was flooded, we would help. When a community is devastated by wildfire or extreme weather, we send help.
Without strong social values, like caring for each other and the planet, we
will always be fighting an uphill battle for climate leadership and policy.
Speak with one voice
Three simple words define a common social, economic, and environmental vision: healthy, resilient, and better. For all the complexity of the climate movement, our vision is of a future that is net-zero, resilient, and better.
A common vision empowers and connects us all in common cause.
Find solutions that will work for all
As scary as climate change may be, for most people it is not a daily concern. When we connect climate action with social needs and desires, we gain traction.
Some people get the big picture. Others are more focused on personal and local challenges. How will climate action save people money, reduce gridlock, make communities safer, and improve the quality of life?
Turn desire into action
With common values, vision, and solutions people want, it becomes that much easier to translate public support into a long-lasting mandate for political and corporate leadership.
A mandate based on social benefit as well as concern for the future will only be stronger. Strong enough, perhaps, to make all the difference.
Make solutions easy, affordable, and desirable
Change doesn’t happen overnight. We need a plan.
Transition pathways lay the groundwork for a smooth transition, starting with investments in the physical and social infrastructure for change, technology development, and support programs to make climate solutions easy, affordable and desirable.
Campaigns that build momentum
Oh, the fun we can have with stategic, movement-wide campaigns!
Strategic campaigns are designed to support the key goals and milestones on a transition pathway. They should be global, with local applications. Here’s some examples:
Sell our solutions
Marketing is everything. The science, the policy, the pathways — they all mean nothing if we can’t sell them.
Strategic marketing is the combination of strategic planning and creative marketing. Values, vision, solutions, milestones, campaigns — they will all need creative marketing ideas.
There is a vast talent pool of media savvy and artistic individuals and agencies that are aligned with the climate movement. Let’s focus and unleash that energy.
Make it work!
Let these ideas help you with your work. Think like a movement, and think of how your actions can help build connections, networks, and communities; or launch projects and campaigns to support a social mandate for climate leadership and action.
Whether you simply let the idea of “social benefit” and movement-building percolate and permeate your approach to climate action, or are ready to design new projects and plans, be sure to keep asking, “how am I helping to build the social mandate for leadership and action?”
This site contains ideas you can adapt and use in your work to support climate leadership and action. All ideas and graphics 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.
