Cultivating Communities
for Climate
Communities can accelerate change in ways that governments and individuals cannot.
‘Global warming exceeded 1.5C across an entire year for the first time’BBC, February 2024“This far exceeds anything that is acceptable. With only 1.5C we’ve seen floods, droughts, heat-waves and wildfires all over the world.”Prof Sir Bob Watson, former chair of the UN’s climate bodyBBC, February 2024But ‘urgent action to cut carbon emissions can still slow warming, scientists say’.BBC, February 2024
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67%
of UK councils are not confident they will meet net zero targetsMass behaviour change is needed
BetterPoints helped Sheffield Council Click Here90%
think there is insufficient financing planned to deliver net zero by 2050This is the heading
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have been put off bidding for funding because of the time and resources involvedThis is the heading
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are ‘generally unsuccessful’ in bidding for net zero fundsThis is the heading
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit dolor Click HereLocal Government Association, March 2024
Climate action is too slow
If we want to hit our Net Zero goals in time to avoid a catastrophic rise in global temperatures, we need to speed things up.
Individuals feel overwhelmed and powerless
Individual people may be anxious about climate change but feel helpless, isolated, and distrustful of political leaders.
Trust in politicians is at an all-time low in the UK.In December 2023, only 9% of British people trusted politicians to tell the truth, down 3% from 2022.Ipsos reportMany have little faith in political leaders to keep promises and avoid u-turns. They feel powerless as a result.Such feelings of powerlessness even affect their health.In research for Triodos Bank, 51% of UK adults said they felt a sense of grief about what is happening to nature and the planet, while 39% felt anxious about the climate crisis.Triodos Bank researchMost young people in the UK are too scared to discuss climate change, afraid of being wrong, criticised, or accused of hypocrisyVirgin Media O2 / Global Action PlanUncoordinated action lacks strategy and carries a high risk of missed opportunities, duplication or conflict with other efforts, and failure to reach goals. Previous slide Next slideGovernments are slow, cumbersome, and ‘hamstrung’ by obstacles
While governments can provide legislation and funding, their action, by nature, tends to be slow and compromised.
Communities bridge the gap between people and policy
Governments listen to voters, voters listen to influencers.
Communities can influence locallyThey are made up of people with local connections, pride and spending power. They can present national goals in ways that relate to local situations, and funnel unheard local voices into a loud message for government.Bringing people together can harness energies that might otherwise be exhausted by feelings of powerlessnessSuch communities can snowball as members become champions and raise awarenessCommunities can influence governments.Individual voices might fall on deaf ears, but a groundswell
of communities clamouring for coherent climate action will not. What might have been a ragtag of disjointed action unseen by political leaders can quickly become a powerful lobby.
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Communities can act, grow and lobby coherently and quickly
A community is much more than the sum of its parts.
Communities can bring together complementary skills, expertise and local knowledgeThey can awaken enthusiasm in people who were previously disinterested and channel their energies towards a shared goalCommunities can both provide access to network and create new onesCommunity can be more agile in decision-making, avoiding many of the political obstacles that face local and national governmentsAnd communities can scale quickly. Previous slide Next slideBetterPoints has been building such communities since 2010
Our application of science and technology makes a real difference – and at scale.
Brighton and Hove
The local Move for Change scheme saved around 400 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2022–2023, by making over a million journeys by sustainable transport.
More than 7,000 people are now members.
Leicestershire
The local Choose How You Move scheme saved around 200 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2022–2023.
More than 5,000 people are now members, reached mostly through social media, word-of-mouth and friend referrals.
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Together, we can build effective Communities for Climate.
Ask us about building a community in your area
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