Audience: Frontline Communities

I have been recently reflecting about my move back to the place I grew up – the Bay Area. I can’t help but think about the local impacts I have been seeing since years of many destructive wildfires. Witnessing the aftermath of these wildfires brought the reality of climate displacement closer to home, more than ever.
Our world is grappling with the escalating challenge of climate-induced migration and displacement, which is expected to affect millions in the coming decades. Enacting meaningful solutions will require effective communication strategies, especially as media attention on climate migration and its impact intensifies. This week’s newsletter explores communication strategies and shares some of the latest resources regarding communicating about climate migration and special highlight on communicating the complexity of displacement.

We’ve just wrapped up COP28 in Dubai. While there were a lot of great words about the need to decarbonize and reduce emissions (though pointedly not the words “phase-out”), it’s impossible to ignore the context of those grand statements: an international climate treaty conference located in a petrostate, presided over by an oil executive, overrun by fossil fuel lobbyists, and being used as the backdrop for still more oil and gas deals. Despite these structural barriers and some oddly patronizing attempts at pacification, climate advocates have made their voices heard at COP28, rejecting Dubai’s facade of decorum and business-as-usual.
It’s been a few years since we wrote a newsletter summarizing insights on fossil fuel fights* – so as we close out 2023 (and salute the hard-fought wins we’ve achieved this year!) let’s keep an eye on the fossil fuel front and explore some ways to respond.