How to Talk About Climate Change in a Way That Makes a Difference

Book excerpt: 'The antidote to climate anxiety is action. Make your first action reading this book.' OSHER GUNSBERG 'Rebecca Huntley has given us a great gift: an essential guide to understanding ourselves and each other as we face the climate crisis. Let's take down the walls that divide us. Collectively, with compassion and courage, we can make real change happen.' KYLIE KWONG 'Explains whether and how we will choose to solve the climate problem. Immensely important analysis in a great read.' PROFESSOR ROSS GARNAUT Why is it so hard to talk about climate change? While scientists double down on the shocking figures, we still find ourselves unable to discuss climate change meaningfully among friends and neighbours - or even to grapple with it ourselves. The key to progress on climate change is in the psychology of human attitudes and our ability to change. Whether you're already alarmed and engaged with the issue, concerned but disengaged, a passive skeptic or an active denier, understanding our emotional reactions to climate change - why it makes us anxious, fearful, angry or detached - is critical to coping on an individual level and convincing each other to act. This book is about understanding why people who aren't like you feel the way they do and learning to talk to them effectively. What we need are thousands - millions - of everyday conversations about the climate to enlarge the ranks of the concerned, engage the disengaged and persuade the cautious of the need for action.