Changing Our Climate Story

Our Solutions House community has a powerful potential – to change the climate story! For decades, our climate crisis has been framed as the greatest existential threat of our time, a doomsday narrative that casts a long shadow over our collective psyche. Futerra calls that the ‘Frankenstein narrative’ of earned dystopias. We’ve all heard the grim predictions: rising seas, raging wildfires, mass extinctions. We’ve been inundated with charts of carbon emissions, dire warnings from scientists, and apocalyptic images of a planet in peril. And yet, despite this overwhelming evidence, global action remains woefully inadequate. Why? Because the narrative we’re pushing—the narrative of doom and gloom—isn't working.

Yes, the science is terrifying. But the opportunity is terrific.

It’s time to change the story. We must shift the climate conversation from problems to solutions. This is not just a matter of strategy; it’s a moral imperative.

For years, the climate movement has relied on fear to spur action. The thinking was straightforward: if people understood the gravity of the situation, they would be compelled to act. But fear, when left unchecked, breeds not action, but fatalism. The constant barrage of catastrophic news has left many feeling overwhelmed and powerless. In fact, over 50% of young people now believe they have no future. Young people have been pushed from anger to anxiety.

Let’s be clear: fear has its place in motivating action. But fear alone is not enough. Fear without hope is a recipe for despair. And despair, as any psychologist will tell you, is the enemy of action. When people feel hopeless, they shut down. They disengage. They become passive observers of their own demise rather than active participants in their salvation.

Here’s the good news: the solutions to the climate crisis are not only within our reach, but they also come with a host of co-benefits that can improve our lives in the here and now. Renewable energy is not just a way to reduce carbon emissions; it’s also a path to cleaner air, healthier communities, and millions of new jobs. Sustainable agriculture is not just about protecting biodiversity; it’s about creating a more resilient food system that can feed the world’s growing population. Reforestation is not just about sequestering carbon; it’s about restoring ecosystems, preserving water supplies, and providing livelihoods for local communities.

These are real, tangible solutions that are already being implemented in cities and countries around the world. And yet, they are often overshadowed by the relentless focus on the problems. We need to bring these solutions to the forefront of the climate narrative. We need to show people that a better world is not only possible but within our grasp.

What we need now is hardworking hope. Not the kind of naive optimism that ignores the challenges ahead, but a gritty, determined hope that recognizes those challenges and rises to meet them. Hardworking hope is about rolling up our sleeves and getting to work. It’s about taking the small, everyday actions that, when multiplied by millions, can change the world. It’s about believing that we have the power to shape our future, not just as individuals, but as a collective.

This is the kind of hope that has driven every major social movement in history. It’s the hope that fuelled the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, and the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. It’s the hope that inspired millions to march for climate action and that continues to drive activists around the world. And it’s the hope that we must reignite if we are to succeed in the fight against climate change.

The new climate story must be one of solutions, of co-benefits, and of hardworking hope. It must be a story that empowers people, rather than paralyzing them with fear. It must be a story that inspires action, rather than resignation. And it must be a story that we tell over and over again, until it drowns out the voices of fatalism and despair.

We are at a crossroads. The choice before us is not just about whether we will act on climate change, but how we will frame that action. Will we continue to focus on the problems, or will we shift our focus to the solutions? Will we succumb to fear and fatalism, or will we embrace hope and determination?

Here at Solutions House, we will work together to change the story. We must tell a new story—a story of solutions and of a better future for all.