Why leaders fail to lead by example on climate

Welcome to We Can Fix It, where we tackle the climate crisis with facts, feelings, and action. Written by me, climate scientist Kim Nicholas.

Hi friends!

This month, I have a new study for you on how inertia from the top locks in high-carbon lifestyles. We’ll embrace mixed climate emotions like feeling glad + sorry at the same time. Plus, learn how to get started with climate action by taking inspiration from penguins, not wolves.

Fun fact: Each of these “flowers” is made up of hundreds of ray and disk flowers! Asteraceae in Lund Botanical Garden. Photo: me Facts: Why leaders fail to lead by example

Despite public support for climate action, many politicians avoid leading by example. A study led by Steve Westlake, interviewing 19 UK Members of Parliament (MPs), found two main reasons:

(1) Support for high-carbon norms: MPs promote high-carbon lifestyles as the accepted social standard.

(2) Fear of moral judgments: MPs worry leading by example will be dismissed as hypocrisy or virtue signaling.

“MPs are part of a systemic resistance to transformative low-carbon behaviour, thus sustaining high-carbon norms and slowing the climate transition.”

—Steve Westlake, Twitter thread

Reinforcing high-carbon norms

MPs’ responses indicated:

“Low-carbon behaviour can be derided and mocked… [while] high-carbon behaviour remains the socially acceptable norm.”

They justify their own inaction by citing fairness concerns for low-income constituents [who already have low carbon footprints], but ignore the high-carbon lifestyles of the wealthy [who do need to reduce overconsumption].

While appealing to social justice sounds good, it ignores enormous differences in emissions based on wealth. MPs, who are wealthier and likely to lead high-carbon lifestyles, misleadingly focus on low emitters.

While MPs claim it would be unfair to demand change from the less privileged, interviews showed that “the consumption habits of the wealthy are not problematized or discussed in relation to climate change.”

MPs also framed low-carbon behavior as “extreme” or “radical”, and cited a lack of demand from constituents for their personal leadership. They preferred incremental change or hypothetical technological solutions that wouldn’t threaten high-carbon industries or require behavior change.

Fear of moral judgments

Many MPs view leading by example as risky, fearing attacks by rivals, the media, or social media. Only two MPs publicly shared their low-carbon actions, citing the importance of positive role modeling. Most worried their credibility would suffer and feared accusations of bragging, virtue signaling, hypocrisy, or seeming “too saintly”.

Thus MPs worried about “appearing too moral, rather than being perceived as having a lack of morality.”

Westlake et al. found that “morally laden language was not used by any MPs in relation to high-carbon behaviour, indicating that it is low- rather than high-carbon behaviour that risks moral transgression.”

In sum: MPs fear public reaction to their personal behavior more than they fear failing to address high-carbon lifestyles. But addressing the top 10% of emitters is crucial, because they cause 50% of household climate pollution globally.

Why norms and culture matter to system change

Breaking carbon lock-in will require addressing three key elements:

Better infrastructure

Policies that reward low-carbon living

Social norms that make low-carbon action desirable.

If any element is missing, it hinders progress. This study reveals how leaders reinforce a high-carbon culture through upholding high-carbon norms.

But there is a way out. In a forthcoming study, Westlake shows that “leading by example increases public willingness to adopt low-carbon behaviors [and thus, to accept effective climate policies], and increases leader credibility and approval.” Stay tuned!

Feelings: Mixed emotions

Living in the climate crisis means tolerating mixed emotions. Life throws a lot at us, and we can feel torn, conflicted, or many feelings at once.

There can be strength in mixed emotions; behavioral science researchers discuss “the power of ambivalence” in authentic leadership.

One mixed climate feeling might be called glorry (glad + sorry)— glad we’re not alone in tough climate emotions, and sorry others are struggling too.

There’s power in knowing you’re not alone, even if you wouldn’t wish a difficult experience on anyone.

Remember, riding the waves of “all the climate feels” is the bridge from doom to purpose.

Glorry = Glad we’re in this together + Sorry you’re going through this too. Inspiration for a cake with mixed emotions from Jennifer Weiner. Image: Dall-E3

Jennifer Weiner perfectly captures mixed emotions:

“My mom died early on a Sunday morning — Mother’s Day, the day before my daughter’s 18th birthday. I bought a cake, and the birthday girl used frosting to divide it into thirds and write Happy Birthday/Happy Mother’s Day/Sorry for Your Loss. It felt like life: good and bad overlapping, everything, all at once.”

-Jennifer Weiner, “First, I Cried. Then, I Rode My Bike.”

P.S. A comment from We Can Fix It reader Divya inspired me to name this emotion. Thank you, Divya!

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Action: Be a climate penguin, not a wolf

Team Climate is growing, hooray! Every day, more people wake up to the urgency of the climate crisis. But many struggle to harness their energy effectively.

The best way to get involved is to join an existing local group. (Here’s how, from your personalized climate action guide!)

Smart people in your area have spent years building campaigns and relationships, and analyzing strategies. The best way you can have an impact and build skills is to join them.

Think of penguins huddling together, sharing responsibilities to survive harsh conditions. It’s cozier and more fun than going it alone.

There’s strength in numbers. Image © David Merron/Getty

Jamie Margolin’s guide for getting started includes six steps:

Find an organization, political campaign, or community group.

Get their contact info from their website or social media.

Write or call them, explaining you’d like to get involved and why.

Just take the leap and join a meeting, attend an event, and take it from there.

Be open to learning by doing.

Figure out your why.

-Condensed from Jamie Margolin, Youth to Power: Your Voice and How to Use It

When you’re reaching out to new people, make it easy for them to say yes! Write short, tailored emails with specific requests. Focus on aligning with their goals rather than making it about you. Existing groups want to grow, so it’s a win-win.

Don’t be a Climate Lone Wolf

What doesn’t work: coming up with a solution alone and imposing it on others without building relationships or strategy. This is counterproductive, causing burnout and yielding no effective action.

I often get emails from lone climate wolfs like this:

“Hello, we’ve never met, and I don’t have climate experience, but I watched this YouTube video and decided nuclear power is the solution. I’ve written a letter I want you to sign/ developed a product I want you to endorse. I’ve contacted organizations I’m not part of, asking for support, but they haven’t responded.”

See the problem? The lone wolf hasn’t built trust or relationships, and hasn’t learned others’ goals. The focus is too much on them personally (the word “I” appears seven times).

A lonely lone wolf. Image: CBC, The Nature of Things

Yes, we need fresh ideas and energy in the climate movement— but also humility and collaboration.

P.S. If you’ve already attended lots of local meetings, and still see a gap that needs filling, you just might be ready to start your own organization. Jamie Margolin’s guide to “Movement and organization building 101” is in Chapter 4 of Youth to Power.

Thanks for reading! Please share this post with a friend to spread climate action.

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Parting Tidbits Recent podcasts: Climate disinformation

I joined the EcoLitACT podcast to discuss understanding and fighting climate disinformation (starting 34:40), my thoughts on carbon removal (56:14), and a turning point in my career (10:17). Have a listen:

Book Recommendation

Doughnut Economics, by Kate Raworth. This book lays the foundation for the modern view of sustainability: providing a good life for all within the planet’s limits. It’s an ambitious but accessible call to rethink almost everything to build a better life on Earth.

xo,
Kim

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