PG version of the new "Climate Science Translated" out now! . If you felt like sharing, but weren't sure your great-aunt Mabel (or your colleagues. ) would appreciate David Cross's strong language, here is an equally punchy yet swearing-free version!

RT @DoctorVive: Shell and other fossil-fuel companies have abandoned the Science Based Targets initiative—a six-year-long attempt to define….

But in our experience, forced positivity can make you feel the crisis is under control, so you don't need to act. Also, it's not honest. People aren't stupid, they instinctively feel it if you're bullshitting them. Our approach is to try and shape a narrative that starts with the

Doomism is toxic. But so is hopium, the insistence on only telling positive stories for fear of freaking everyone out. We do absolutely need to point to a positive way forward (and there is one), otherwise we'd all just crawl under the duvet. #climatesolutions

The reality isn't entirely rosy. We've made progress compared to previous likely outcomes, but the outlook is still grim, as we spell out.

Climate Science Translated Breakdown #10/10: .NO HONESTY = NO HOPE. There is an ongoing debate in climate communications about doom and gloom vs hope. 🧵.#climatecommunication #climatescience

We are still in search of an effective yet widely appealing call to action, which tbh probably needs an entire movement attached to it! .Work in progress. ⏲️.

UK research showed that our films are very effective in making people want to take action (87.5% more likely to take action). But, it's fair to say people are not bowled over by the options available. Some simply feel they have no political agency whatsoever (and who can blame.

In the UK, we invited people to join a march or protest, to see their MP, to change their bank, to join a local group, to share with friends - deliberately giving a range of options.

Climate Science Translated Breakdown #9/10:.DRIVING TO ACTION.Awareness doesn't always lead to action. If you don't give a credible account of agency, of how people can affect the dire situation you've just explained, they won't act. 🧵. In the US, it's call or go see your

👇👇👇.

The informal chats between scientist and comedian at the end of our films are many people's favourite bits. Behind the scenes, most of them genuinely connected - and were grateful for each other’s voice.

Public figures play a huge part in tipping social norms, particularly if they're not political. Which is why we feature comedians coming to the help of scientists.

Whatever the actual %, it's both plausible and encouraging that we don't require everyone. Nor should we try and placate every shade of opinion. No movement ever has.

US sociologist Damon Centola reckons it takes 25% of the population to tip the rest. @XRebellionUK early theory of change was based on Erica Chenoweth's 3.5% figure (which sounds low, but still represents a good 2-3 million people in the UK, many more than ever turned up).

Climate Science Translated Breakdown #8/10:.TIPPING SOCIAL NORMS.As Michael Oppenheimer tells @davidcrosss, "we need more people like you". - Change comes once social norms tip. 🧵

Watch and share to help address misinformation and false narratives.

Half of the top 10 online shows spread misinformation or false narratives about Hurricane Helene in 2024. If you've been exposed to such data pollution, see thread below for a useful antidote >>>.

Ours is: comedian translates scientist into no-BS English. It seems to have struck a chord - enough to get a few unlikely doors open, from @CBSMornings in the US to ITV, @GMB in the UK.

Unless you start with an idea based on an inherent tension that sparks discussion, you are dead in the water.

Too much climate communication is hatched in focus groups, where attention is a given - people are paid to listen to your meanderings, and also to come up with some kind of coherent answer, that may or may not reflect their real-life likelihood to watch and engage.