Phase III

On the need for hope in pursuit of change

Approaching climate change with optimism and hope is absolutely necessary in the realistic implementation of lasting and effective action to prevent it. The world has been primed with violence and conflict in a way that creates the impression that these are inevitable [5]. Those who understand the dangers of climate change are either burdened with the weight of these seemingly unpreventable tragedies, or are jaded by the realization that the scope of these tragedies spans across the globe through multiple generations.

All research into climate change turns back countless responses, all painting a picture of some terrible future that cannot be stopped, yet one that necessitates some viable solution in spite of it.

It is not that these perspectives are inaccurate in their assessment of a future burdened by climate change; it is that the narrative they create leaves people feeling hopeless and powerless in their society. If they are not subject to the harms of climate change, their children will be. Their grandchildren will be. And countless others around the globe will be, and already are.

Any other approach to combating climate change that does not consider the impact of that narrative in the fight for a brighter future lacks a serious misunderstanding of people. They are assessed as merely reactionary; people act out of self-preservation when they are afraid. Fear and shame receive attention, call on negative emotions that unconsciously draw a reaction. For any short-term plan to help people understand what climate change will do to the planet, this method is effective in spreading the word. Yet when it comes to creating any substantial change and allowing for ideas and growth to prosper, it only excludes any creative or idealistic thinking for not fitting within the narrative of inevitable chaos.

Consider an individual combating addiction: he is at risk of losing his career, his family, and his own life due to the dangers of substance abuse. These potential losses may wake him up to the serious nature of the problem and help him to realize that change is necessary. But do these factors drive his complete and lasting recovery?

An effective recovery may begin when he realizes that the problem exists. Letting the problem define the path to recovery, though, where each individual failure defines the individual, creates a narrative of an addict-centric identity that prevents recovery from ever truly happening [11]. Only after understanding the root of the issue, getting help from others, and making an effective plan is the individual able to recover. Some tactics may reduce the behavior, but do not challenge the reasons for those behaviors. Substance abuse is not the problem; it is a symptom of a larger issue.

Likewise, climate change is a symptom of a greater problem within our world; one rooted in capitalism, power, wealth, and directionless drive toward development. The underlying, unhealthy causes of climate change set the stage for a self-destructive behavior to emerge as a result. In order to repair that behavior, we must envision our brighter future without it. We must envision an ideal future, regardless of how far it is from the current state, and create a plan for how to accomplish it. We may envision the future of this planet under climate change as bleak, catastrophic, and unsurvivable. But only once we envision a world in which there is peace, health, and prosperity for all will we realize why exactly change is necessary and what barriers keep us from accomplishing those things.

Thus, the language we use to describe the future must empower us to act in its favor. Language shapes our reality, and the language we use to describe climate change and the future can narrow our perspective. To only speak of the future as suffering under climate change may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy in which we accept that such an outcome was always bound to be. When we identify with the current issues of climate change and the stories we hear of such a terrible future, that future becomes the only one visible. Anything else becomes idealistic speculation of what could have been.

It is limited, and it puts everything under a lens of pessimism and doubt. Even those who claim to want to do everything they can to prevent climate change have created the pressure of an inevitable failure. A lens of optimism counters that; it envisions an ideal future, and sees failures as missteps taken on the path to getting there. It recognizes that while the world will still suffer due to climate change, those tragedies cannot define the movement to end it.

The language used in this scenario changes who receives the power in the struggle with climate change. The climate catastrophe narrative paints a picture of the citizens of the world fighting constantly against the power structures in place for the right to a healthy planet and sound future. It envisions a world set on a course towards destruction, and every ounce of energy goes towards preventing that. In the narrative of optimism, however, the world is at a turning point, with a course to be set for an ideal future. It is not the burden of the people to fight to prevent the destruction of the planet; rather, those in power who benefit from the causes of climate change will have to fight the citizens of the world if they are so determined to keep humanity from protecting the earth. They will try, but inevitably, they will fail. That is the only future worth looking at.