The new climate change story must be one of rapid transition

A woman and a child walk through water to
 reach their home during a king tide on Kili
in the Marshall Islands, that are just two
 meters above sea level in most places.

Climate change is like the type of film director who, having already thrown the audience into seemingly inescapable peril, keeps piling on the jeopardy. The carbon budget to stay below the Paris climate accord’s target of 1.5C of warming is all but used up, and staying below even its lower goal of 2C now requires elaborate leaps of faith.

While signatories to that agreement make decisions on national infrastructure in direct contradiction to it, the most powerful economy on Earth falls under the spell of a reality TV demagogue, at best uninterested in the issue and at worst determined to promote the industries and energy choices that will make the problem catastrophic.

We need to find a new way to engage when the highest power is won on policies picked by a snake oil salesman who’s promised with a nod and a shrug to solve the nation’s problems. On everything from climate change, to the EU and international cooperation needed for action, our reality is being shaped by people who tell tales with plot holes, continuity errors and no regard for factual grounding.

Those who care about these issues must learn to tell better tales. Yet there’s a problem. The presentation of evidence, sober argument and the appeal to reason is deeply engrained in the culture of campaigning for progressive change. Other approaches tend to leave advocates feeling insecure, suspicious or lacking confidence.

Read the story on The Guardian by Andrew Simms - “The new climate change story must be one of rapid transition.”