We begin with some good news.
Good news is not the usual headline for climate stories, but let’s imagine a different kind of beginning for a different kind of offering. Although there are plenty of stories that warn of a dystopian climate future, it is also true that Canada has made strong progress towards decarbonizing the economy. New clean technologies and systems exist, and offer viable pathways to a net-zero society.
And yet, making such pathways real remains elusive. Despite good intentions and solid solutions, even excellent climate-action plans can get stymied and stalled.
With such good plans, and a host of technologies that can deliver on them, why does climate action remain slow?
Climate is not a tech problem.
It’s a challenge of transformative change, and transformation is hard because it includes change in mindsets and culture, as well as tech and systems. While we excel on the climate tech side, we have not yet plumbed the depths of the human dimensions, nor found the social tipping point to shift our systems towards sustainability.
In different corners of the country and beyond, radically different social perceptions exist about what kind of problem climate change is and the perceived risks it presents society – from an impending collapse that needs our best efforts to avert, to an overblown conspiracy that doesn’t account for regular people. And everything in between.
At the same time, climate change impacts are beginning to be felt more and more each year—abnormal heat, strange weather patterns, severe wildfires and flooding, and more. We know that climate change is meshed with other planetary boundaries that support life on earth, and that when ecological tipping points are surpassed, the impacts cascade. A bit like falling over the edge of a waterfall. The magnitude of what that means for our future can be upsetting. Even climate action taken today to avert these impacts can itself feel disruptive to people—especially in an already difficult economy—and many resist or lash back against taking up the climate actions that are called for.
As a result, climate change easily becomes politicized and polarized. The resulting cacophony of views is disorienting. While climate activists protest big oil, climate denialists protest big government. While governments frame emissions as a threat to economic stability, other passionate voices frame climate action as the threat to the economy, specifically to the very industries that made Canada what it is. While some people are genuinely worried about losing their jobs and livelihoods, perceiving a fragile, uncertain future; others exhibit no concern at all.
These mixed, often polarized views can make potential social tipping points become social stalling points on the pathway to net-zero.
In the midst of this, climate communications can seem weak or misdirected in addressing these fractured social perceptions. Climate stories of doom and gloom seem to foster apathy and backlash more than they ignite agency. Framing climate change as a technical problem puts the focus on convincing people about the technical solutions or regulating them with policy levers.
And yet, we can’t message or regulate our way out of an imminent climate collapse.
Rather, climate engagement ought to be about wayfinding through changes in culture, identity and livelihoods.
Just as the right amount of salt brings forward the existing flavours in cooking, SALT for Climate aims to be a catalyst to advance the existing potential of effective climate action.
With key climate actors in BC and Canada, we advance the skills to engage the full human dimensions of the climate challenge towards new conversations, possibilities and action. We provide climate leaders across sectors in British Columbia and beyond with training, dialogue and engagement opportunities in a variety of contexts.