Why Storytelling is Key to Climate Action

How can we "read" or understand policy responses to climate change? We can "read forwards," drawing on scientific evidence and reasoning to project consequences and dictate policy responses. Or we can "read backwards"; we can look to the human beliefs, values, and goals that impute meaning to the world to understand the many lines of evidence and reasoning leading to policy responses. University of Cambridge professor of human geography Michael Hulme joined deputy director of the Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs Klaus Weber to discuss the power of "reading backwards" and the importance of embedding "climate actions" inside human stories, both dominant and marginalized.

This webinar is part of the Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs’ "Building Sustainable Futures: Global Challenges and Possibilities" webinar series, which focuses on a different United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) each quarter. This webinar focused on SDG 13: Climate Action, spotlighting how effective approaches to combating climate change require unprecedented global cooperation and scientific knowledge. Winter 2021 webinars are co-sponsored by the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN) and sustainNU.