Narrative Archive

Multiple framings of 18 different policies were tested with nearly 60,000 people across 23 countries (accounting for 70% of the world’s population) to explore two questions: “1) Does the world want action on climate? 2) How can we motivate the public to accelerate progress?” Alongside finding that “urgent, generational” messaging is effective, they also find that ‘limitation’ frames, including the words “mandate, ban or phaseout,” have much lower support compared to frames like “upgrading, setting standards, making solutions accessible, and reducing dependency.”

“By refusing to call time on implausible climate targets, trusted messengers – such as climate scientists and environmental charity leaders – are providing inadvertent permission for the public to continue minimising the reality of climate breakdown,” resulting in “the sustained absence of widespread public support for meaningful action.” Their recent survey finds “the general public is ready to be told what is actually going on, and ready to receive invitations to help them do something about it.”

“An experiment in the future of creativity”, asking “what if our creativity was used in service to life on earth?” Their brief to the marketing industries (and beyond): “We need to help human civilisation come back to life. To remember that nature is our extended family, the original source of beauty, solace and joy. To rekindle an ember that somewhere, deep down, still glows within them.” Also see The Good Advert, and the more wry Atmospheric Agency.

“The conversation on racism is stuck. But with a formidable bank of data, Reframing Race has learned that new ways of talking about racism can lead to new ways of listening and thinking.” This 2 minute animation quickly and accessibly introduces these findings to make them practical and memorable. Also see.

COP28 is swirling around the debate about whether to ‘phase down’ or ‘phase out’ fossil fuels. But “the blanket demand to eliminate fossil fuels is widely perceived across the developing world as an ill-conceived and self-serving colonial narrative promoted by Western interests.” Nafeez argues that “instead of focusing on dismantling the incumbent system, we need to focus on accelerating the deployment of the new system that will replace it…because that’s the only way that demand for oil and gas can be eliminated.” This may account for some of PE’s findings above.

“The enormous influence oil and gas executives are wielding at COP28 has thrown commercial partnerships between media outlets and the fossil fuel industry into sharper focus. Climate reporters at every outlet we analyzed have diligently covered the challenges that the industry’s so-called solutions face, but when that reporting is placed alongside corporate-sponsored content touting the technologies’ benefits, it leaves readers confused” and leaves climate reporters in fear of their employers’ “gross,” “undermining,” and “dangerous” behaviour.

“If climate activists want to spur support for green policies, their pitch should focus on unjust heightening of vulnerability, at home and elsewhere. Personal, emotionally informed stories of the effects of climate change—such as of children going hungry in climate-worsened drought–can evoke empathy and spur support for greener policies, especially if they arouse anger at injustice. Migration-related narratives, by contrast, can create empathy among some audiences, but can also create fear, especially when migrants are largely presented as members of overestimated crowds.”

Coverage of a roundtable discussion between the founding members of the Climate Justice Alliance and Just Transition Strategic Framework. “The Chorus Foundation worked with climate movement activists to create an ecosystem of allied funders and organisers that could usher in a just transition.” They share their learnings of how to do this, including working carefully to build trusting ‘right relationships’, understanding relationships to power, assessing readiness, and picking a lane within the ecosystem.

“You can’t bargain with a driverless car. It is so much more difficult to revolt against a system rather than our fellow humans because there is nothing to be in relationship with…The driverless car doesn’t have a goal, doesn’t have a purpose, doesn’t have a nature against which we can take up arms or with which we can negotiate…Its very lack of relationship is what sees it careen blindly towards its own demise, pulling the rest of the world along with it…The cliff is in sight. Aim for the tyres.”

An invitation to join a ‘reframe intervention’ in the 2 weeks leading up to COP28: “Land ownership sits at the heart of the extraction-based global operating system. To address the issue of land ownership is to address the root causes of the polycrisis: the interlinked systems of capitalism and colonialism. To change the system we need to change the narrative. We change the narrative by centering land in our work: decolonisation, climate justice, peace - land gives us a frame to work collectively towards a liveable future.”

“What does it take for government and philanthropy to listen to stories meaningfully? To make real change, we need to get better at telling stories. But governments and philanthropy also need to get better at listening to them. The Centre for Public Impact, Dusseldorp Forum, and Hands Up Mallee have been exploring the role of storytelling in systems change. For this report, we turn our attention from storytelling to storylistening.”

“A first-of-its kind, culture-first look at audiences to understand who climate communications are currently reaching, who they may be leaving out, and how to integrate more climate content into media…Existing maps see audiences through the lens of those who care about climate change and those who dismiss it. But these maps don’t reveal what people are interested in when not thinking about climate. To build a media strategy that reaches new audiences, and contributes to a better climate future, we need new maps!” Also see ‘What’s your creator vibe?’.