05/10/2023 Talking about the climate

Why is it so difficult to talk to people about the climate crisis?

We started with some of our experiences. These varied:

• One person didn’t find it difficult to talk to people.
• Another has been experimenting recently with talking more and found it went well. It can be difficult when you feel so strongly and so wound up but being more relaxed and just having the intention to talk about it was easier and it went well when the subject of climate change came up.
• Someone else finds it difficult and avoids talking to people. When they ask “What can I do” they don’t have an answer.
• They don’t want to be too pessimistic talking to their daughter.
• It can be difficult some people just don’t get it. They might be into fast fashion for example. And you don’t want to come across as preaching.
• It can feel all-encompassing and you don’t want to sound like a stuck record.
• Someone had a conversation with someone recently who wasn’t a denier – they just didn’t know what they thought. We talked about how helpful it might be just to listen to someone.
• There can be a conflict between my job and my feelings about climate change because where I work has a really high carbon footprint. It’s been suggested that I might be happier working somewhere else but this is where I am, and I can talk about the climate crisis here and where something is happening with sustainability at work I can make a contribution, turn up at meetings and look out for greenwashing.

We looked at the results of some research that was carried out in Norway and published as a book in 2011. The research was interested in people’s knowledge of climate change. What they found when they spent time in BYgdaby was that the people there were aware of climate change, they thought the unusually warm winter and loss of snow in the ski resort were caused by climate change, but somehow they managed not to let it affect their everyday life. By living in BYdaby, observing and talking to people in different settings the researcher put together a picture of how people we doing this by maintaining silence around the causes and impacts of the climate crisis. Kari Marie Norgaard started to understand how talking about the climate crisis raised troubling emotions for people and threatened their sense of who they were as individuals and collectively, as Norwegians.

Norms and conventions

• For emotions:
  • “You’ve got to be strong”
  • Toughness and independence (gendered)
• For conversations:
  • Climate change isn’t appropriate for small talk. It might be mentioned but only superficially:
    • “At last a proper Norwegian Winter”
    • “This global warming’s a good thing!”
  • It’s inappropriate in informal social gatherings (e.g. the bar).
    • There’s pressure not to be too negative.
    • It’s a place to relax, tell stories or share gossip.
  • Climate change is ‘off-topic’ in local political meetings.
    • There’s a preset agenda.
    • Local events are seen in isolation and not connected to global issues.
    • “local people care about local things”.
• Of what to pay attention to:
  • The past is more real than the future.
    • Celebration of traditions.

Stories that provide a sense of innocence.

• The US is way worse than us.
• We were a poor country until recently (Norway has suffered).
• Norway is only a little country.

Our thoughts

The idea that there are norms, conventions and stories relate to us in Britain, like the “stiff upper lip”.

Listening is important.

• Follow the other persons lead.
• Have real conversations
• Being honest could make us more approachable.

We didn’t talk about fear but that might make it difficult. We don’t want to put that fear into our friends.