Climate Change & Just Transitions | AI & Disruptive Tech | Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship | Creative Thinker | Harvard Scholar | World Bank Practitioner
Just read a thought-provoking piece by Holly Buck in Jacobin: "Obsessing Over Climate Disinformation Is a Wrong Turn" (https://lnkd.in/eQzHYtyd). While it's generated some pushback (most from a Global North perspective), I believe it raises crucial points we can't afford to ignore in our climate action efforts. My key takeaways: 1. We must take people's concerns seriously, their skepticism often stems from valid concerns. 2. Meaningful engagement is crucial - we can't treat people as passive recipients of information or misinformation. 3. The climate movement needs to engage more directly with affected workers and communities. 4. We need more spaces for public deliberation about climate policies and their impacts. Working on energy transitions in the Global South has made these points even more apparent to me. We often encounter a range of concerns, questions, and skepticism, particularly in coal-dependent regions. It's reductive and potentially harmful to dismiss these voices as merely victims of disinformation or unaware. There's a dangerous fallacy that people in certain regions lack knowledge about climate change. In reality, many are experiencing changes firsthand and have been adapting using strategies passed down through generations. The technocratic view that "they don't know" is dismissive and perpetuates climate action as an elitist, top-down agenda. Consider countries struggling with energy reliability and access. When faced with discussions about phasing out coal while experiencing daily power outages, confusion and skepticism are natural responses. We need to engage with these real-world complexities. Another example is forest-dependent communities being asked to switch their livelihoods to low-carbon, nature-positive activities. These communities face significant trade-offs, fundamentally altering their way of life and economic survival strategies. Their hesitation isn't about denying climate change, but about grappling with immediate, existential concerns. Even within organizations prioritizing climate action, we must create space for questions and concerns. Dismissing skepticism or closing off dialogue is counterproductive. While it's crucial to take disinformation seriously, especially when it's part of political agendas blocking climate action, we can't let this overshadow the importance of genuine engagement with diverse perspectives. We need to be ready to engage with skepticism, get our hands dirty, and avoid putting people in boxes like"victims of disinformation” or "uninformed." That's not a luxury we can afford in the face of the climate crisis. Thoughts? How can we better create spaces for genuine dialogue and engagement in climate action efforts, especially when it involves significant trade-offs for vulnerable communities? #ClimateAction #EnergyTransition #Engagement #JustTransition #ClimateJustice
