Leadership in the context of Climate Change

The ongoing climate crisis poses several different kinds of challenges to communities around the world.  To deal with these major challenges, we need to build collective action that can do the following:

•    help drive policy change at different levels of government
•    help drive government and private funding towards strategic areas that lead to long and short term positive impacts.
•    help the world move towards nature-based solutions across various sectors.  

For all of this to happen, we need visionary leaders who are able to inspire change and action in governments, institutions, non-profits, communities, and individuals.

Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics that such leaders have.  In a 2022 study conducted by  Allyson Frantz at the Johnson Institute of Responsible Leadership at the University of Pittsburgh, five individuals working at the national and global level were chosen as the climate action leaders whose work was to be studied for their leadership qualities.  The five leaders were:

•    Mostafa Tolba, former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and facilitator for the 1987 Montreal Protocol

•    Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and negotiator for the 2015 Paris Agreement

•    Marina Silva, former Minister of the Environment for Brazil and head of the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon

•    William Peduto, former mayor of Pittsburgh and head of the Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan 3.0 (CAP 3.0); and

•    Mary Barra, Chair and CEO of General Motors (GM) and leader of GM’s sustainability transition model

They were chosen to represent different kinds of stakeholders ranging from citizens, NGOs and nonprofits, governments, and corporations.  To quote the study, their work spans a diverse set of actions “from coordinating multinational agreements to heading a market transition toward electric vehicles”.  From a study of their work, it is evident that all of them exhibit these characteristics that led them to success in their work.

1.    using knowledge and experience to establish credibility
2.    supporting science-driven information
3.    communicating a vision of resiliency and innovation
4.    incentivizing cross-sectoral and grassroots-level collaborations
5.    eliciting affective responses, and
6.    developing systems of accountability to produce actionable, long-term plans.

Given how rapidly the climate crisis is either already affecting or threatening to affect a variety of vulnerable communities globally, leaders across various sectors can learn from these characteristics  and include them in their own work in different ways.  

While the study has arrived at a certain interpretation of what these characteristics could mean, we’re looking at them here through a lens that allows youth leaders working on climate action to use these as a useful starting point to build upon.  Let’s take a closer look at each of these characteristics.

Using knowledge and experience to establish credibility

For youth especially, this could be an important area to focus on as they are often treated by older people as inexperienced and not knowledgeable enough.  However, youth leaders could eliminate this barrier by educating themselves about the problems faced by their communities and by being able to back up their demands with relevant publicly available data, peer-reviewed scientific studies, conversations with climate scientists and community representatives, and keeping track of the latest happenings in this space.  And as the study highlights, their credibility could also be boosted if they spend a lot of time genuinely understanding the needs of the communities being affected.

Supporting science-driven information

In a world where emotions run high, especially in debates over climate change and sustainability, aligning with the latest science can be an excellent move towards becoming a youth leader working on climate action.  Scientists spend a lot of time collecting historical and real-time data and analysing this data extensively to build various climate models that could then be used to come up with appropriate policies and solutions at all levels.  And because a lot of the issues arising from the climate crisis tend to be systemic in nature, scientific evidence can help with using legitimate data to make sense of the complexity of these problems.  Attempting to build solutions that come purely from an emotional response to the issue, may lead to partial success but could, occasionally, even worsen the problem.

Communicating a vision of resiliency and innovation

Climate action typically is not a one time effort;  rather, it is an ongoing series of actions that build on earlier work.  While a lot of it happens as a response to challenging circumstances, this doesn’t always need to be so.  Visionary leaders must be able to anticipate issues well in advance.  They should also be able to communicate effectively not just with one or two primary stakeholders, but with a majority of the stakeholders that are contributing to the issue and are being affected by the issue.  The policies and solutions that they come up with must be communicated in different ways with different stakeholders, anticipating each group’s resistance to these ideas.  The solutions themselves need to be innovative and effective, and must lead to building resilience in the communities they serve.  For this to happen, the work needs to be consistent and must address both, ongoing problems and any that are anticipated in the future.  Solutions must also be built in consultation with the communities they serve and the key stakeholders who can offer political, economic, and infrastructural support.

Incentivizing cross-sectoral and grassroots-level collaborations

A lot of the work that happens in climate action tends to be done individually or at organisation level and not at network level.  This may be due to a lack of resources and time as, often, the most urgent climate action is required in extremely vulnerable communities that are already greatly affected by climate change.  However, by building cross-sectoral and grassroots level collaborations in advance, youth leaders in these communities can receive the support they need when they need it.  They can also build more inclusive and equitable solutions and policies as collaborations between different stakeholders within a network is likely to lead to a more balanced and inclusive approach to problem-solving.

Eliciting affective responses

‘Affective’ has to do with feelings and emotions.  Over the last several decades, communication around the impacts of the climate crisis have largely been rooted in a rational, data-driven approach.  For example, saying that Himalayan glaciers may lose upto 75% of their ice by 2100.  While this statistic is indeed factually correct, it does not evoke a vivid picture in people's minds about the actual on-the-ground impacts of this loss of glacial ice.  Instead, it is an abstract number that doesn't speak to most people's lived experiences.  By focusing on the day-to-day impacts of this loss of ice such as Himalayan rivers running dry, and people along these river valleys not having enough water to cook, bathe, or even to flush their toilets, the statistic suddenly becomes more relatable.  Almost everyone can understand these visuals.  This works the other way as well.  People need more tangible visuals for solutions, and not broad statements that don't speak to them.  To get more and more people to accept that climate change is already happening and that urgent, immediate, and tangible action is required at all levels, communication around climate change needs to be made more affective or rooted in emotions and feelings.  Youth leaders who develop this ability particularly, are far more likely to experience success in building effective campaigns around mindset and behaviour change in their communities.

Developing systems of accountability to produce actionable, long-term plans

Coming up with ideas to deal with the impacts of climate change may be more exciting and even easier.  But actual change happens when we include systems of accountability and frameworks that make our ideas actionable in the long term.  For youth leaders working in this space, it is essential that they understand the importance of such systems early on.  Building their capacity in this area can demonstrate to others that they are committed to turning ideas into action over time.  And that they have a clear, well-defined path forward to do this. There are a few other qualities and abilities that leaders working on climate action need to have or develop.  An important one among these is Whole Systems Thinking or Systems Thinking as it is generally called.  

Systems Thinking was developed as a way to deal with the interconnectedness of the planet.  As scientists have been discovering, many of the major problems we face as a civilization today are systemic problems.  They have multiple stakeholders and parts that intersect with each other in predictable and unpredictable ways.  There are also systems at different levels that intersect with each other. i.e, nested systems in which smaller systems are contained within larger systems which are contained within yet larger systems.  

For example, the human body is one such system in which smaller systems like the regulatory system and the central nervous system interact with each other to form a larger system called the human body.  When the human body faces any issues, we have to look at not just the visibly affected parts but also at other parts that interact with these parts.  Similarly, climate change is a global system of interconnected parts and stakeholders that intersect and interact with each other in millions of different ways.  To find solutions that can deal with this level of complexity requires the ability to think in systems.  

Going forward, Systems Thinking is likely to be a hugely important skill for youth leaders working on climate action to have.  They have to be able to see how different parts of this global system engage with each other, who the key stakeholders are, the different kinds of patterns that are showing up in the world, what is giving rise to these patterns, etc.

Being visionary in their thinking and having a growth mindset are two more vital qualities in leaders.  The first is so that they can create and articulate a compelling vision for a sustainable future.  This inspires collective action and shows people a range of tangible possibilities on which they can work.  Having a growth mindset allows leaders to constantly learn from their current experiences and from the feedback they receive from their communities and other stakeholders.  Without a growth mindset, it's all too easy to get stuck in conventional thinking and methods that have not shown much promise in dealing with the climate crisis.

Case Study

Amchem Mollem Campaign in Goa

The ‘Save Mollem’ campaign by Amche Mollem against the proposed infrastructure projects in Mollem National Park and Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sactuary in Goa is an excellent example of how interdisciplinary collaboration between scientists, lawyers, artists, students, teachers and common citizens led to a hugely successful campaign.  

All these groups brought their individual skills and their passion for Nature together and worked collectively to initially increase awareness of the issue through webinars and online petitions.  Once they had built up enough momentum, they took the campaign to the next stage by taking legal action as well as by creating a viral movement through the use of social media, tweet storms, etc. and by directly writing to and speaking with their political representatives.  

By using art and film to communicate the ecological importance of these ancient forests, they were able to garner substantial support from the citizens of Goa and from many parts of the world.  Taking the legal route also ensured that their activism was supported by the judiciary and by continually engaging with the public, they were able to keep the issue alive in the public eye long enough for their political representatives to finally take notice and take action.  

Combining these three key areas - science, law, and art - and by involving all members of the community, they were able to demonstrate the value of community-driven activism that was run by people on the ground and not by well-funded organisations.

Activities and Exercises

Educate Yourself - Find one issue arising from climate change that is currently affecting or may affect your area or community in the future. Research it extensively by reading articles and any available studies about it.  Try not to restrict your research only to publications and media you already agree with; reading from sources that hold different perspectives can be very helpful in understanding why people think the way they do.  If possible, talk to climate scientists at nearby universities who may be studying the issue in depth.  Talk to the different stakeholders who are part of this issue.  These may be people contributing to the problem and people being affected by the problem.  Also, people who may be able to help you work on the problem.  Understand the needs of the stakeholders well as these will need to be included in any demands for solutions or better policies from your political representatives.  This will also help you negotiate better policies and solutions with your political representatives, nonprofits, and corporates who can help with the problem.

•    Communicate - With the help of the scientists and other experts, break down the problem into easily understandable causes and the possible impacts they're likely to lead to in the near and distant future.  See if these impacts can be made more tangible or visual.  Frame the issue in words and metaphors that your audience will relate to and understand easily.  While it is important to work on communicating the problem, it is equally or even more important to communicate a vision of what you want people to do.  Name the actions.  And if possible, offer them some starting points to explore that are not too demanding or difficult.

•    Collaborate - Connect with people who can help you simplify the message and make it more affective or emotional.  These may be people from the advertising industry, people working in behavioural science, artists, musicians, filmmakers, or media professionals.  Work with them until you have different ways of putting the message across that your audience will relate to and understand.

•    Amplify - Strategize on the different ways you can push the message out to your audience. Social media is one way.  Podcasts, YouTube videos are also an option.  Direct engagement with your audience through talks, street plays, etc. can also be effective.  Repetition is a very important aspect of stickiness i.e., a message must be repeated often and in many different ways for people to remember it.  Saying it just once or twice, even if you're sharing hard-hitting facts, is not enough. There is too much clutter in the media for people to remember even great messages or ideas.

Resources

Volume I:  Climate Glossary for young people

Volume lll:  What is Climate Governance?

The Young Climate Activists Toolkit, in the Middle East and North Africa Region/Arab States Region.

The Young Climate Activists Toolkit has been developed by the UNICEF Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa and the UNDP Regional Hub for Arab States.  Its aim is to equip youth with the resources they need including knowledge and tools that they could use to participate in local and global climate action, where they can also advocate for change.  It was developed in consultation with young climate activists from around the region to ensure that the resulting framework was inclusive and well-informed.  The Toolkit has been designed to make information on climate action simple, to the point, and easily understandable so that youth can be fully and well-informed before they engage in climate action and conversations around it.  The Toolkit has also been made contextual to the region to help young activists address the challenges they face locally.

Reinforcing young people’s knowledge and skills in the context of climate policy is the driving force behind the Youth Leadership in Climate Policy Workbook and Facilitator’s Guide. Surveys have found that while youth are clearly very concerned about the climate crisis, they often do not know how to engage with the processes that go into developing climate policy. For example, they may not be aware about how they could be involved with climate action and policy in their regions.  As a result, they do not feel heard or well represented. This workbook and guide aim to remedy this issue.     

Facilitator Guide

Chapter1:  What is climate policy and decision making

Chapter 2: How are countries taking action

Chapter 3: Who can help you take action?

Chapter 4: Turning your knowledge into action