How Can We Talk About Climate Differently? Lessons in Listening and Trust 🤝
Did you miss the webinar we co-hosted with Climate Outreach this week? 👀 Don’t worry, because we’ve condensed the key knowledge nuggets for you. 👇
In a Nutshell 🥜
🎬 Recording | 👓 Transcript | 💥 Executive Summary | 🗞️ BTC Report
Suzanne Dhaliwal, Fahmida Miah, Simmone Ahiaku, and Sam Narr, came together for the Climate Reframe x Climate Outreach webinar this week to explore how the UK’s climate movement can reconnect with people through authenticity, trust, and justice-centred storytelling.
Drawing on insights from the 🔗 “Britain Talks Climate and Nature” research, our speakers revealed that while Britons overwhelmingly love nature and want to protect it, trust in institutions is collapsing. Many feel climate action is distant or elitist—but this can change with communication that feels local, relatable, and rooted in lived experience.
Key Takeaways 🔍
🔑 Authenticity matters: Climate messages resonate most when delivered by trusted, relatable messengers who speak to everyday realities—from housing and jobs to community pride.
🤝 Listen before leading: Deep consultation and co-creation build real engagement. Communities must be brought in early and valued for their knowledge and time.
🌱 Connect global to local: Linking climate issues to social justice, faith, culture, and local identity makes the movement stronger and more inclusive.
🗣️ Tell empowering stories: Use imagination, art, and storytelling to inspire agency—showing people they’re part of an ongoing legacy of resistance and renewal.
💬 Shift the narrative: Move beyond political divides; frame climate as a “top vs. bottom” issue of fairness, care, and community, not “left vs. right.”
Sound-Bites 📣
💡 Suzanne Dhaliwal reminded us that true solidarity starts with listening — not just louder messaging. Storytelling should be about learning and connection, not persuasion.
💚 Fahmida Miah showed that inclusive, values-based communication builds trust. People respond to relatable messengers, local stories, and visible progress — not abstract “net zero” promises.
🔥 Simmone Ahiaku called imagination a form of political power. Empowering communities to design their own climate futures — from green housing to local food projects — makes climate action real and joyful.
⚡ Sam Narr urged a shift from left vs. right to top vs. bottom: climate, justice, and fairness are deeply intertwined. And our communication must reflect that — clear, grounded, and accessible to everyone.
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Thanks for writing this, it clarifies a lot. The emphasis on authenticity and local connection is realy important for climate action to truly resonate.