Movements are a crucial to achieve social change, as it is not enough to just have evidence, or even to communicate it with compelling stories, you also need to build counter-power that can force change in the existing system 3/n
Analysis by @IsakStoddard et al of why we have failed to even bend the emissions curve (despite over 30yrs of scientific warnings!) compellingly reveals the role of the power of vested interests in blocking action.
One way to see this power in action in the comms sector is to identify the discourses of climate delay that are prevalent in much of the mainstream debate on #climate.
The latest @IPCC_CH WG3 report on mitigation is clear that we have *high confidence* that "collective action as part of social or lifestyle movements underpins system change"! 6/n
Recent reviews are clear that social movements play a key role:
Why are we talking about this at a #TippingPoints conference?
Because social movements are necessary to access the deeper leverage points necessary for tipping social systems (check out Donella Meadows!) drbalcom.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/3…
But what are social movements? It's a concept that's quite hard to define- a useful way to think of it as an ecosystem of change with lots of niches to fill!
We only need to look to history to see the key role social movements have played!
But we must be wise to the distortion in the stories that are now told - these were hard won struggles in the face of fierce opposition. Those we remember as heroes were once seen as villains 11/n
We must also reject misleading narratives of a 'great-man' view of history. These movements were won by millions of ordinary people self-organising and taking action in many different ways, we can all help lead the way! 12/n
In summary, social movements can tend to be identified as possessing these characteristics.
Key questions for research right now include:
- How to grow such movements?
- How can they be resourced?
- How can there be better collaboration?
- What are key strategic demands?
/End
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I’m thrilled to announce @TristramWyatt, @CharlieJGardner & my new paper in @RSocPublishing 'Open Science'
In this paper we set out our case for responsible scientific activism in an era of planetary emergency.
A short🧵
2/ We argue that scientists & scientific institutions can have the maximum amount of influence by lending their support to social movements pressing for action, joining as active participants & considering civil disobedience.
3/ Einstein once said ‘Those with the privilege to know have a duty to act’.
But act how?
If scientists want to be more than chroniclers of a preventable tragedy, and to see science-informed policies enacted, we need to seriously reexamine our theories of change.
One thing I wished more people understood about climate change is that we have not yet experienced any where near the full consequences of the warming we've already caused.
Here's a 🧵 explaining why...
2/ As the planet warms we see extreme events become far more common, a heatwave that used to have a 1% chance of happening in any year, becomes a 10% chance.
That is the return period is reduced massively.
3/ These changes are very sudden and dramatic.
As this study by the @metoffice shows "we find that events that would occur twice a century in the early 2000s are now expected to occur twice a decade"
Let's pause & reflect a minute about what this shocking picture of @GretaThunberg 's arrest tells us about the current state of #climate politics.
A short 🧵on some key lessons we can take from this image
2/ What a difference 6 years makes!
In many ways climate politics is in a very different place to how it was when @GretaThunberg first started her strikes outside the Swedish parliament in the summer of 2018 to try and put the #ClimateCrisis on the agenda
3/ Largely as a result of protest movements #climate has now entered mainstream debate.
And the stakes are clearer than ever.
Following the latest @IPCC_CH report in 2022 @UN Secretary General @antonioguterres made clear we are faced with a 🚨"Code Red for humanity"