Or, Why does Planet South Bank do what it does – and why we choose not to do some things that we could do.
Earlier this year, Planet South Bank adopted the theory of change of the Climate Majority Project, as a framework for thinking about our work in our local community.
A Theory of Change links actions to hoped-for change. It provides the rationale for what things are done, how they’re done, and why they make sense towards a vision of how the world could become.
In Planet South Bank’s case, our vision is of a community which is more resilient, more resourceful, and more connected to itself.
And although we’ve been going for over twelve years now, and the Climate Majority Project’s Theory of Change was only produced last year, it actually sums our way of thinking up very well.
It explains for example why we support the monthly climate cafés and help people learn vegetable-growing skills – and why as a climate group we’re not blockading the petrol pumps on Tadcaster Road.
There are four Climate Majority Project strands or principles, all connected to and reinforcing each other:
- Shifting climate conversations towards truthfulness, both as to the challenge and the many responses already emerging;
- Encouraging collective resilience within people and communities;
- Enabling tangible, meaningful actions which turn concern into [results?] action;
- Building a shared understanding of what we’re in together, with an emphasis on alliance-building not polarisation and helping to build imagination and energy for action.
In more detail:
1. Shifting climate conversations towards truthfulness, both as to the challenge and the many emerging responses. This might be called ‘scientific pragmatism’: although it seems likely that 2024 will be confirmed as the year when global temperatures went beyond the safe zone of +1.5 degrees of warming, there is much that can be worked for towards adaptation, resilience and making the transition into a +1.5 world as just and equitable as possible. When it is openly said that government responses, and many public messages about climate, are inadequate, people tend not to despair but instead start asking themselves and others what they can do. There’s a stage in a majority-building process when enough people say to themselves ‘We can’t go on like this’; the next stage is when enough of those people hear enough other people also saying ‘We can’t go on like this’ – it feels like that second stage is now well under way.
2. Encouraging collective resilience within people and communities. Processes such as the Climate Cafés offer a chance to reflect, breathe, know that we’re not alone, and to honour how we’re feeling over time. This inner work is important to stop us curling up in despair or grief, and equips us to process the strong feelings as they arise so that we can stay more grounded and able to respond.
3. Enabling tangible, meaningful actions which turn concern into results. There is no longer any benefit (or hope) in waiting around for governments to save us. There are a million amazing examples around the world of people starting where they are – especially in their professional roles, and in their local communities – to begin the work of change. Planet South Bank already has an active and imaginative history of this. More and more, and urgently, the focus in York must turn to strategic adaptation as well as mitigation, given the Council’s limited capacity to influence emissions across the city, and the immediate risks of heat, flooding and infrastructure insecurity which we as a city face. People who are asking themselves what they can do are already more likely to respond to invitations to act – from weeding the community garden to taking part in cross-community initiatives (such as local energy schemes, campaigning to protect the water quality in the Ouse, or supporting local democracy). Action breeds hope, and when we take part in something involving even a few other people, we immediately feel part of a larger endeavour.
4. Building a shared understanding of what we’re in together, with an emphasis on alliance-building not polarisation and to help build imagination and energy for action. The climate and biodiversity emergencies affect everyone, and everyone is needed to be part of the solution. ‘Come as you are’ is a favoured Climate Majority Project principle. The label of ‘activist’ can be quite a turn-off; and if instead people are being invited to ‘take action’ then it becomes a much more natural thing to do. It is far easier to do meaningful effective things locally, than trying to influence at a national level let alone globally. And working for a better neighbourhood is a very meaningful thing to do for people who simply love where they live – whatever their views on politics and the climate.
In summary, the four elements of the Theory of Change give us as Planet South Bank a starting point for ideas and action. It helps us make the best of the energy, time and imagination that we have.
Planet South Bank continues to search for effective responses – including joining with other people and their ideas – and if you’re one of those people with an idea, let us know!, we’d love to be in touch with you.
Links:
Climate Majority Project: https://climatemajorityproject.com/; and their book of ideas and inspiration, including the Theory of Change, is available direct from the publishers at https://londonpublishingpartnership.co.uk/books/the-climate-majority-project-setting-the-stage-for-a-mainstream-urgent-climate-movement/
A separate Climate Majority Project Theory of Change theoretical paper – a bit long but very readable: https://usercontent.one/wp/climatemajorityproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ToC-Pre-Launch-Disseminate.pdf
Planet South Bank 