Climate change is one of the greatest threats we face today, posing unprecedented challenges to societies at every level. While many people accept this, many also feel helpless before it, despite the minor changes they know they can make in their lives: from recycling to eating less meat. This sense of disempowerment can allow pessimism to seep in. Work at the University of Plymouth is seeking to counter this pessimism and provide models for how we can match the urgency of the need to act with our potential as citizens and communities to make meaningful change.
“One of the striking things that’s come out of a recent piece of research is that secondary-school children feel that the climate education that they’re receiving tends to be treating climate change as a kind of faraway problem,” says Alison Anderson, professor in sociology. This means, she adds, that they find it hard to relate to.
The research, carried out in conjunction with the British Science Association, found that young people wanted more climate education and for it to be embedded across the curriculum, whereas currently it is mainly siloed in GCSE Geography and Science. “They weren’t being given a sense of the socio-economic and political context of climate change, and most of the examples that they were hearing about were to do with the impacts of climate change. There was much less focus on the causes and solutions,” Anderson says.
She believes that a “project-based local approach” would help young people get engaged in on-the-ground initiatives with their school. For example, if a school were to install solar panels, students could be involved in projects that assessed what difference the installation had made in terms of cost savings and the environment. Beyond that, they could collaborate with community groups to see the impacts and how they make a positive change.
“People are far more likely to be engaged with climate action through taking a place-based approach that links in with their own experience and local community, and [where] they can actually see changes occurring,” Anderson says.
“The key issue now is: how do we actually deal with the climate crisis? And that involves behaviour change, and looking at ways in which we can ensure that our leaders actually take the appropriate action so that we don’t have less-privileged people being left behind,” Anderson says.
Later this year, she will brief newly elected MPs in Westminster on evidence-based policy changes for our schools. This includes integrating climate education across the secondary curriculum, focusing on solution-oriented approaches and emphasising media literacy and critical-thinking skills. Teachers need comprehensive support, training, and resources to bring about this necessary educational shift. By empowering educators, we can ensure a more informed and proactive generation ready to tackle the pressing environmental challenges of our time, adds Anderson.
Climate change is not only an environmental and scientific problem, but a social, political and cultural one that requires a holistic response. As such, University of Plymouth brings together experts across the disciplines – from politics to psychology and literature – working in collaboration with partners, local authorities and communities to develop comprehensive, place-based solutions to empower people.
One such project was led by David Sergeant, professor of English literature. He is working with Devon Climate Emergency, a partnership that comprises organisations and groups across the county, from local government to utility companies and businesses. “While they are addressing obvious categories such as transport and food,” Sergeant explains, “they also recognise that there are things that cut across these categories – such as culture. Technical solutions are extremely important, but people need to be able to imagine how these plans can make a positive difference to their lives and those of generations to come.”
Sergeant worked with DCE for two years across multiple locations, developing Net Zero Visions, a project that brought together artists, community groups and climate experts. They imagined a positive vision of what the place they lived in might look like in 2050. This was about exploring what was possible rather than whitewashing the difficulties, and thinking about what a survivable, secure, liveable future could look like, he explains.
The partnership created illustrations, online games, an animation and a series of murals in Plymouth and nearby Tiverton to illustrate that vision, as well as a freely available mural toolkit. “The artworks were one result, but it was also a way of people sharing ideas, working out what they could do, what they had already done and talking through an often frightening and daunting situation,” Sergeant says.
The impact went beyond the immediate project targets. “It was a bit like the ripple effect of throwing a stone in a pond,” Sergeant says. “Some people took the idea and ran with it, and it really seemed to change how they thought about themselves, their families, their work.”
Some of those who took part went on to convene meetings in their local communities to talk about what they could actively do, and to plan murals for their schools and churches that would allow people to share their visions of what the place they lived in could be like in 25 years. Setting out a possible vision for the future can then encourage a community to create a path towards it.
“The idea of imagining a better future can seem frivolous,” says Sergeant, but it has power. One partner in a related project on climate and the arts is an organisation in Plymouth that works with some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the city. “Some of the participants were really sceptical at first, but it was amazing, after three hours, how many people were simply enjoying being given the permission to be creative,” Sergeant says. “That’s not a luxury item when it comes to change. Everyone possesses creativity. It can’t be lost or taken away. Being reminded of that can also remind people of the power they have to change things.”
The ground-up approach means people are empowered to act together to make place-based interventions, and to collectively push for change on a regional or national level that directly connects to their actions. Innovative approaches developed in Devon could be replicated in other parts of the UK.
Leveraging local knowledge and supporting community collaboration can lead to meaningful change for individuals and communities – without which there will be no sustainable future that might survive the disruptions that are coming.
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