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Episode 96: Crafting Compelling Personal Climate Change Stories
In this month’s Citizens’ Climate Radio episode, host Peterson Toscano and the CCR teams introduce a fresh approach to climate change storytelling by exploring personal stories as metaphors. While these stories are not explicitly about climate change, they reveal truths and perspectives that resonate with our climate work. Join us to discover how personal narratives can enhance and diversify our stories about climate change. You will also learn expert storytelling tips to apply when telling stories about climate change.
Using Personal Stories as Metaphors
Peterson challenges us to use personal stories, which hold significant meaning and energy for us, as metaphors for climate change. These stories, often about transitions, conflicts, or breakthroughs in our lives, can draw powerful parallels to our climate efforts. You’ll hear two compelling stories from the Citizens’ Climate Radio team members Erica Valdez and Horace Mo, each reflecting personal growth and resilience.
Horace’s Story: A Journey of Friendship and Belonging
Horace Mo shares his experience of moving from China to the USA as a 16-year-old. Navigating a new culture and language, Horace found support and friendship in his roommate Kai, who helped him overcome language barriers and cultural differences. This story of adaptation and support mirrors the collective effort needed in climate work, emphasizing the importance of community and mutual aid. Horace reflects, “My English ability soared like a rocket with the help of Kai and other students at school. For the first time, I sensed a personal belonging to the school community.”
Erica’s Story: Confronting Hidden Challenges
Erica Valdez recounts her high school friend Sophia’s (not her real name) struggles with college applications due to her parents’ undocumented status. Erica’s story highlights the hidden challenges marginalized communities face, drawing a parallel to the often-overlooked impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations. It emphasizes the need for empathy and support in both personal and climate-related contexts. Erica notes, “Witnessing her stress made me ask, how many people are going through something similar?”
Making Climate Connections
Peterson tells a story about a toxic, abusive relationship and reveals how this personal relationship mirrors society’s relationship with fossil fuels. He also encourages listeners to see the climate connections in Horace’s and Erica’s stories. Both narratives reflect themes of fear, support, and overcoming obstacles—common experiences in the climate movement. We can create more relatable and engaging narratives that resonate with diverse audiences by relating personal stories to climate issues. Peterson emphasizes,
We need stories that reveal the power of climate change solutions. We need stories that unveil the driving force behind our efforts in addressing climate change. We need stories that unveil the driving force behind our efforts in addressing climate change. Stores that unearth how climate change affects some people differently than others. Stories that will inspire us to keep going.
Nerd Corner: The Economic Impact of Climate Change
In the Nerd Corner, Citizens’ Climate Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli discusses the economic impacts of climate change. Using lizards as an analogy, Dana explains how extreme weather events and shifting climates can stunt economic growth, emphasizing the urgent need for swift climate action to mitigate these effects. Dana states, “Most economists agree the faster we act on climate change, the better it will be for the economy. That’s especially true if we use a market-based solution like putting a price on carbon pollution. That way, we can see the true price of products, including their climate costs, like a chameleon turning off its camouflage.”
Listen Now
Why Climate? Featuring James Earl Hollywood III
In the new segment, Why Climate?, volunteer James Earl Hollywood III shares his motivation for climate action. A father of nine from Maryland, James highlights how environmental degradation disproportionately affects marginalized communities and underscores the importance of inclusive and collaborative climate solutions. James shares, “Climate change is not just an environmental issue; it’s a human rights issue that affects every aspect of my life.”
About James
James Earl Hollywood III is a dedicated husband, father of nine, minister, and author with a deep commitment to social change and community empowerment. He is pursuing a doctorate in Social Leadership, combining his extensive academic background in Criminology, Public Administration, Communications, and Implementation Science with his passion for advocacy and leadership.
James has been actively involved with organizations such as the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Americans for Prosperity, and various advisory groups, leveraging his expertise to drive meaningful change. Known for his dynamic leadership and ability to inspire others, James continues to make a positive impact through his work, striving to create a better, more equitable future for all.
If you want to share with us why you work on climate change, let us know. Contact details below.
Good News: CCL’s Successful Climate Conversations Campaign
Tamara Staton, CCL’s Education and Resilience Coordinator, reports on the success of CCL’s recent campaign, which sparked over 27,000 climate conversations across all 50 states. This grassroots effort demonstrates the power of personal engagement in driving climate action and raising awareness. Tamara concludes, “Each conversation is a step towards greater awareness and collective action.” Read more about how CCL volunteers are breaking the silence around climate change. Find out about other actions and monthly campaigns by visiting CCLUSA.org/action.
Stay Connected and Share Your Story
Peterson invites listeners to share their personal stories and how they connect to climate change. Whether through social media, public speaking, or personal conversations, sharing these narratives can inspire and motivate others in the climate movement. Consider submitting your story to Citizens Climate Radio. See contact details below.
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Tune in next month for more inspiring stories, expert insights, and actionable climate solutions. Together, we can make a difference, one story at a time.
We Want to Hear from You
- Email: radio @ citizensclimate.org
- Text/Voicemail: 619-512-9646 (+1 if calling from outside the USA.)
Shoutouts to the following people and groups for the ways they promote us through social media: On X (FKA Twitter): Michael Cooper, the Arkansas chapter of CCl, Frances Stewart, M.D, Robert D. Evans, Bill Nash, Jane Haigh, 1.5, CCL Alameda, CCL Bellevue, Washington, and Jean Lloyd Larson. On TikTok: Linda Jay Reed, JackAsh007, Jan Cleveringa, Climate Countdown, The Green Journey, and Dr. Dana R. Fisher.
Next Month
Dr. Dana R. Fisher wrote Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action. She will tell us about her book and read from it. We will also include students from Bucknell University who created soundscapes of how they feel about climate change. Plus, there are new installments of the CCL Youth Corner, the Resilience Corner, and our latest feature, Why Climate?
Production Team:
- Written and produced by Peterson Toscano, Horace Mo, Erica Valdez, Dana Nuccitelli, and Tamara Staton.
- Technical Support: Ricky Bradley and Brett Cease
- Social Media Assistance: Flannery Winchester
Music is provided by epidemicsound.com
Transcript Ep. 97 Crafting Compelling Personal Climate Change Stories
SPEAKERS
Horace Mo, Peterson Toscano, Dana Nuccitelli, Tamara Staton, Erica Valdez, James Earl Hollywood III
Peterson Toscano 00:00
Welcome to Citizens Climate Radio your climate change podcast. In this show, we highlight people’s stories, we celebrate your successes, and together we share strategies for talking about climate change. I’m your host Peterson Toscano Welcome to Episode 97 of Citizens Climate Radio, a project of Citizens Climate Education. This episode is airing on Friday, July 26 2024. In the nerd corner, Dana Nuccitelli. Through the help of some lizards, reveals the costs associated with climate change. Tamaris Staton shares good news about over 20,000 Climate conversations in one month. We also premiere a new segment to the show, Why Climate. A father of nine tells us why climate change is the issue he has dedicated his free time to addressing.
Peterson Toscano 00:54
But first, we are taking a deep dive into a new type of climate change storytelling, one that may revolutionize the types of stories you tell. Today, we are going to explore personal stories as metaphors. These stories have energy behind them because they’re meaningful to us. But they’re not explicitly climate change stories. Instead, they could reveal a truth or a perspective that we can relate to some aspect of our climate change work. You will hear three different stories. Two of these come from CCR team members Eriic Valdez and Horace Mo. I gave them each the following assignment.
Peterson Toscano 01:43
Share a meaningful story from your life and experience. But do not write specifically about climate change, the environment, or nature. Consider moments of transitions in your life. conflicts or breakthroughs. Include specific details about people places, things and settings. Express your emotions and share your feelings in different parts of the story. The assignment is essential for helping us craft compelling stories that capture and retain the listener’s attention.
Peterson Toscano 02:19
Erica and Horace both recently graduated from college, and they chose stories from their time as high school students. They wrote their first drafts and shared them with me, and I gave them lots of feedback. In both cases, they needed to add more details about the people in the story. They also needed to add emotion. Their stories had endings, but these needed to be strengthened. Storytelling is a craft. It requires humility and patience so that we can receive feedback. A first draft may be good, but it must be much better.
Peterson Toscano 02:54
My husband is a professional writer and teaches creative writing at a university. Even as an award-winning author, he recognizes that his first draft is incomplete. He shares his writing with me and with his writing friends, he listens to our feedback, makes changes, and works on it to make it better and better. This work is crucial, and you will be rewarded for your hard work. First, let’s hear Horace’s story. Horace added music and sound effects to make it pop. But listen for the details he includes and the emotions he references. Also, be aware of the feelings his story stirs up for you.
Horace Mo 03:34
A 16-year-old boy carried two black 50-pound suitcases alone and flew across the Pacific Ocean from China to the USA. It was the boy’s first overseas trip and he landed in an old boys boarding school in Salzburg, Pennsylvania. While the boy was excited about the new educational opportunities awaiting him, he was concerned about assimilating into a completely unfamiliar living environment. Even worse, he could barely speak fluent English. At that point, he was ill-informed about American culture. That boy was me.
Horace Mo 04:11
While facing the uncertainty and being far from home as a teenager, I was fortunate to meet my first year roommate Kai, a Black 16 year old from San Francisco who is devoted to soccer and always possesses contagious and joyful giggles I didn’t know it then but Kai would become one of my best lifetime friends.
Horace Mo 04:30
The first several months of school were tough for me. I had a hard time fully comprehending class lessons due to my limited English. For a similar reason, I could not easily converse with my peers. I sometimes felt extremely discouraged when I saw pure confusion on their faces, and they could not grasp my true intention in my broken English phrases. Luckily, my school teachers and classmates were lenient with me and passionate about helping me out. Kai, however, was one of the first people who volunteered to help me with my English learning he waited patiently for at least several seconds, and through me, I encouraging look whenever I stumbled over words or failed to find the right English word or expression. He also played a crucial role in adjusting my English pronunciation and grammatical usage. Although jokingly named my English-speaking Morse Code since it was often hard for him to understand to the full extent. He was always welcoming and friendly whenever I needed help with English. Not surprisingly, my English abilities soared like a rocket with the help of Kai, teachers, and many other students at school.
Horace Mo 05:34
I am grateful for their help and kindness. For the first time, I sensed a personal belonging to the school community. Not only did Kai help me with my basic English learning, but he also invited me to stay with his family in San Francisco for the Christmas break. We trekked the landmark hilly roads, saw the Apple headquarters, and walked across the Golden Gate Bridge. He also introduced me to some of his friends, who greeted me with excitement and warmth. Kai’s family also show me superior hospitality. Kai’s mom, Miss Natalie, told me about the origins of Christmas in local traditions in San Francisco. She took me out to local restaurants to try Polish and Vietnamese food. Mr. Natalie always assured me a safe and comfortable stay at their place. Throughout the trip with Kai in San Francisco, I felt cared for, loved, and valued, similar to how I would feel back in my original home with my parents in China.
Horace Mo 06:26
I am grateful that I met Kai in high school. It was a period of personal growth and friendship I could never have imagined before I started my academic journey in the US. He supported in helping me with English and his passion for taking me to his hometown gave me a sense of belonging and joy why I needed help most.
Horace Mo 06:45
In return, I invited her to go to China with me over the spring break during our senior year at high school. I was proud to showcase my hometown, the city of Chongqing, which is the origin of delicious meal called hotpot. Within the city we witnessed the magnificent view of the cityscape on the top of the highest local mountain, visited a Buddhist nunnery and experienced the art of Chinese calligraphy at home. While Kai stay in Chongqing was sure he was impressed by his engagement with the cultural and entertaining activities in Chongqing. His traveling widened his understanding of China and tightened the friendship bond between him and me. I’m sure my story with Kai will continue throughout our lifetime, as he’s a true friend, a teacher and a brother from another mother to me.
Peterson Toscano 07:32
And you may be thinking, great story. But what on earth does this have to do with climate change? On the surface, nothing at all, though as a metaphor, it touches on themes and feelings familiar to those of us doing climate work, Horace entered a new world and felt fear. He couldn’t succeed alone. So he developed meaningful relationships as he navigated this new world.
Peterson Toscano 08:02
Now, let’s listen to Erica story. Again, pay attention to the details She includes and the feelings you experience listening to her story. After she’s done, we’ll unpack both stories to see the climate connections.
Erica Valdez 08:18
Throughout high school, I couldn’t wait to graduate and move on to the next step: college. I was fortunate enough to have very supportive parents who encouraged higher education as a path for me and my siblings.
Erica Valdez 08:30
When it came time to apply for schools, I had a friend who didn’t know much about the process. I won’t use her real name today for privacy purposes. So we’ll call her Sophia. Picture this: we were high school seniors ready for this exciting next step. Sophia and I were close friends, we were on multiple sports teams together and shared classes. So we spent a lot of the day with each other. Sophia was outgoing, always bubbly and chatting away in our friend circle and during practices.
Erica Valdez 08:59
Our senior year, we took time in our classes to learn about school options in California and how to apply for them. Sophia asked me questions like, How do I know what school I’m applying for? What’s the California State system? And do we really need to pay for each application? I thought these questions seemed obvious. Hasn’t she talked about this before? When she asked these questions aloud, people laughed and expected her to find the answers herself. I could tell she was very stressed out about the process. I mean, I was stressed too, because this was a very big step in our lives.
Erica Valdez 09:28
But it came to a point where she stopped asking questions. She stopped talking to me about her applications. As deadlines approached, Sophia finally told me what was wrong. She was having trouble with school applications because although she was a citizen of the United States, her parents were undocumented. This prompted questions that I hadn’t thought of before. What does this mean? What issues does this cause? I learned that that this made it difficult to fill out general parent information, financial aid forms, and most importantly, her parents weren’t able to support her because they just weren’t familiar with college applications. I had just stepped into uncharted territory.
Erica Valdez 10:04
At first, I thought most of my friends are Hispanic, I’m Hispanic, we make up the majority of that school. Surely I can support my friend through this. Even surrounded by this community, a community where immigration is so common, I realized I had never had a conversation about it. I had never thought about someone so close to me dealing with these issues of immigration. And I had never been in a situation in which I tried to support them through it.
Erica Valdez 10:31
Back in 2019, people didn’t openly talk to others about their immigration status. There was a fear that didn’t need to be verbalized. It’s a fear that stopped my friend from seeking help and a fear that even stopped me from talking to my parents about it. That day, I realized how ignorant I was to issues that I didn’t face. Although I was surrounded by countless people who are probably going through something similar. I was never exposed to conversations about it. I did my best to support Sophia as a friend; I would answer the questions that I could, try to walk her through the application steps, and encourage her to seek advice. But I didn’t understand the magnitude of the situation. Witnessing her stress made me ask, “How many people are going through something similar?
Peterson Toscano 11:16
Are you hearing any themes that remind you of your climate work? I heard the challenge of talking about a topic that many people want to avoid, a topic that is both personal and political. Like Horace, Erica was faced with something new, something she didn’t know a lot about. The next step I had Erica and Horace take was to talk to each other about their stories. I asked them how they might pivot their stories to a climate-related issue or theme. Doing so will expand the types of climate change stories we tell. This goes beyond trying to convince others that climate change is real or serious. People need to hear all kinds of stories related to climate change. Because it is a multifaceted topic that intersects with so many other issues, here’s their conversation.
Erica Valdez 12:14
When talking about this problem that I had when I was younger, I had no idea that it would relate to issues about climate change. And the more I talked about it, the more I realized, wow, this has a lot of common themes. One of those things is that climate change is like immigration, such a silent topic. I mean, we’re so scared to talk about climate change. This could relate to climate change because people without documentation are so fearful of talking about it that it just goes unsaid. And it’s a very hush topic, like climate change.
Horace Mo 12:43
Yeah, I totally agree with you. And I do think that’s a really solid point that people who do not have legal documentation status in the United States will definitely feel more afraid of asking for help or asking for assistance from the government because they may fear, the risk of getting deported, of getting exposed about their illegal status. This will be especially vulnerable for people who are undergoing climate crisis right now, you know, after severe flooding or forest fire events, people who are sharing this illegal status in the United States, they might be going through some obstacles that we could never ever imagined.
Erica Valdez 13:30
Yeah, and I actually had when I was younger, a couple of experiences where I had to evacuate because of wildfires right in my backyard, basically. Talking about this story, I realized that Sophia probably would not have had the opportunity to evacuate and ask for help from people around her, from the government, or from her insurance. I mean, there would just be so many issues that would come from being from parents who are undocumented and having family members who had that fear, and they wouldn’t be able to ask for the same things that I was able to ask for.
Horace Mo 13:59
Yeah. So speaking of fear, in my story, I also talk about the fear of being unfamiliar with a new environment, especially why just arriving in the United States as a non-native English speaker, that fear, unlike the fear that you mentioned in the story, my fear of unfamiliarity also brings me that sense of anxiety and uncertainty about people or strangers that have never met before. But I do think there’s a common or a shared element between these two different types of fear that it drives people to be curious about the issue, especially for people who are observing this or for people who have already recognized this issue in society and for people who are undergoing this kind of fear, anxiety and uncertainty, will inspire them to talk about those issues to other people that they will trust and this could be a good way for them to relieve their stress.
Erica Valdez 14:56
There is also this fear of needing to know everything about a topic before you start talking about it or before you ask questions about it. And I see this a lot in the people around me when we talk about climate change. They think that because they’re not experts they can’t really ask questions or talk about it or have an opinion on it even. And we see this a lot in our personal stories. I mean, if we’re not educated on a subject to full capacity, you know, we feel like we can’t really talk about it. But that’s not the case, we should be encouraging each other to be curious, like you’re saying, and ask questions and ask for help because we need the support in all these issues.
Horace Mo 15:30
On top of that, just being able to open up and be able to seek for assistance, even though it could be much more difficult for people without the legal documentation. But I do think their own positions out there, like CCL or Sierra Club, which are doing a great job in society to uncover those underrepresented communities in the United States, and also just offering generous help to the more vulnerable communities. Like the people you mentioned in your story. Furthermore, I think there’s that benefit of getting to know new people just like me. When I first arrived at the school, I wasn’t expecting to make close friends like Kai, but you know, throughout the process, you might miss somebody that you strike a chord with that you just appreciate so much. Those people that you could meet on this new path to join the climate campaign couldn’t become your new friends. Not only you will learn a lot from them, but also those people will learn so many new things about you.
Erica Valdez 16:32
It’s super important. I mean, you never know what other people are going through. I think your story is super inspiring, for being in a new place and being able to ask for that help.
Horace Mo 16:41
So, listeners, here are the ways that you can connect your personal stories to a climate issue or to climate action. There are so many more examples that you can find in your daily life. And hopefully, those personal stories would help you stay motivated in your climate work or just prompt you to make a further step or whatever that you would do to protect our environment and convince more people to join our sideline.
Erica Valdez 17:09
It’s super important to find different ways to motivate ourselves through our climate work in taking personal stories like this that may seem like hardships or obstacles to inspire us is definitely an important way to do this.
Horace Mo 17:21
Yes, because there’s always a way to find help. And there are always organizations or entities out there to offer you to help. Stay connected.
Peterson Toscano 17:33
Horace and Erica, thank you so much for sharing your stories and making these connections for us. I’m in awe of the two of you. Seriously, when you collaborated on this episode, you were physically very far apart from each other. So ,well done. You see Horace is based in China and Erica is on the West Coast. What’s that 15 hour time difference? Amazing.
Peterson Toscano 17:57
In a moment, I will tell you one more story and connect it to climate change. To summarize, though, we need a variety of climate change related stories that cover the multitude of human experiences. Yes, we need stories that will help people take the threat of global warming seriously, but we also need stories that reveal the power of climate change solutions. We must share stories that unveil the driving force behind our efforts in addressing climate change. Stories that will inspire us to keep going. Stories that unearth how climate change affects some people differently than others. This takes hard work imagination and collaboration. Like Erica and Horace, find someone who will listen to your story and give you feedback so you can improve it, workshop the story and tinker with it. Struggled to find the connections and most likely you will.
Peterson Toscano 18:56
Here are three final points I want to impress upon you. Number one, when trying to make climate connections, not every story will work and some will work better than others.
Peterson Toscano 19:01
Number two, some stories are too personal to share. Not all of our stories are meant for the general public. They may be too revealing or intimate to share if you feel uncomfortable telling a personal story because it’s too personal. Respect that feeling. It may be the story you only share with a loved one.
Peterson Toscano 19:31
And number three, tell your own story, not someone else’s. At first, Erica wasn’t sure how to tell her story because it didn’t feel like it was hers. It was about her friend. After the first draft, though, we gave her feedback to help her talk about her part of the story, her feelings, and the challenges she faced. If your story includes someone else, ask yourself, “What is my part of the story to tell?”
Peterson Toscano 20:00
With that said, I’m about to break my own rule. I have a story a friend shared at a climate storytelling workshop I led. She is unavailable to tell it herself for this episode, but she said she would love for me to share it with her blessing, especially if it would help people better understand the concept of connecting personal stories to climate change. This is Tabitha’s story I share with her consent.
Peterson Toscano 20:36
Tabitha grew up in Southern California but then moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, and lived with her boyfriend. At first, things were going well; they both had jobs, and they enjoyed each other’s company. But over time, the relationship got tense; the boyfriend became more and more demanding. In fact, Tabitha realized she was in the middle of an abusive relationship. Although he never physically harmed her, there was a lot of mental and emotional abuse. As her life became more and more enmeshed with the boyfriend and she became more and more estranged from her own family in California, she decided she needed to move out. She needed to go back home to Southern California. But how? Her whole life was tangled up with this man, their finances, their home, their friends. Iit would be starting all over from scratch.
Peterson Toscano 21:36
One day, she had the courage to pack up a few things and take off while her boyfriend was at work. As she drove West, with the mountains ahead of her, she began to immediately have doubts. “This is too big of a change. How am I going to do something completely new? How am I going to make money? How is this going to work?” She began to waver. And as she did, suddenly, there was an unexpected downpour of rain. It rained so hard. She had to pull over.
Peterson Toscano 22:21
It was in the midst of that rainstorm, that she heard her own voice speaking to herself. “Just keep going. Just get over the mountain, then keep going.” And she did. She got over that mountain. She got back to Southern California. Her family helped her put her life back together. And now she is married with a lovely man who respects her and her intellect and her creativity and they have a beautiful son together.
Peterson Toscano 23:14
Now, what on earth does that have to do with climate change? I asked Tabitha. I was like, “Okay, this is a beautiful story. It’s powerful. It’s personal. It’s it’s meaningful. But But what does have to do with climate change?” Tabitha said, “Well think about it. We are in this deep relationship with fossil fuels. It started out well as a society, fossil fuels helped us and things seem to be going well, but we became more and more dependent upon them. And over time, it’s become a toxic relationship, quite literally in that there are toxins in the air that are making us sick.” She said, “Like the relationship I was in, that toxic abusive relationship, I needed to break free. We need to break free from our dependence on fossil fuels. But it’s so hard because everything is entwined. You just can’t walk away. It’s in every aspect of our lives. But that’s not an excuse to just sit in a toxic, abusive relationship. We need to keep going. We need to get over the hurdles that are ahead of us and keep going.”
Peterson Toscano 24:27
I love that story. And I thank Tabitha for giving me permission to share it with you.
Peterson Toscano 24:33
Once we have fully crafted our stories and made connections to climate change, what do we do next? Well, share your story in every venue. That makes sense. It could be on a Facebook page or as an op-ed in the newspaper. You might talk about it publicly at an Earth Day event or Toastmasters. You can share it with a friend over lunch. You can share it with fellow climate advocates to inspire them and deepen their understanding.
Peterson Toscano 25:03
I would love to hear one of your personal stories and how you connect it to climate change. You may have a story, and you do not yet see the connection to climate change. It would be great to share the story with the audience and we can see what connections they make. Feel free to email me radio @ citizens climate.org That’s radio @ citizens climate.org. You can also call our listener voicemail at 619-512-9646. I will repeat these contact details at the end of the show or just visit CCL usa.org/radio.
Peterson Toscano 25:35
Coming up Dana Nuccitelli in the Nerd Corner answers the question, just how much will climate change drag down the economy? We also introduce a new segment to our show Why Climate? James Hollywood a Citizens Climate volunteer tells us what motivates his Climate Action. Plus Tamara Staton shares a good news story about tens of thousand of climate change conversations. Stay tuned.
Peterson Toscano 26:23
Now it is time for the nerd corner hosted by Dana Nuccitelli, Citizen Climate’s Research Coordinator.
Dana Nuccitelli 26:32
Hi, I’m Dana Nuccitelli, CCL research coordinator, and this is The Nerd Corner.
Dana Nuccitelli 26:44
I’m here to highlight some interesting new climate research for the nerds out there, and to make it understandable for the nerd curious.
Dana Nuccitelli 26:56
In this episode, we consider the question, “Just how much will climate change drag down the economy?”
Dana Nuccitelli 27:14
Economics experts agree that climate change will damage our economy by causing more extreme weather events. But there’s a vigorous debate about just how expensive and expensive those damages will be. To understand this complicated debate, let’s use a lizard as an analogy. Yes, a lizard, like a Komodo dragon, a gecko, or a chameleon. It’s possible that an extreme weather event could create one-time costs that governments pay for. Think of this like a young lizard losing and regrowing its tail. The little lizard won’t be happy losing its tail all the time in traumatic events; it will require extra energy to regrow its tail, but eventually, it will develop into a pretty normally sized adult lizard.
Dana Nuccitelli 27:59
A second possibility is that shifting to a hotter climate with more extreme weather will slow the growth of the economy. This is like a young lizard whose growth is stunted. By the time it reaches adulthood, this lizard will be much smaller than normal. stunted growth makes a big difference because its effects accumulate over time.
Dana Nuccitelli 28:19
A third possibility is that worsened extreme weather events have a persistent impact on the economy. The impact may not be permanent, but it could last for perhaps a decade. It is actually not all that bad. Once we stop global warming, its impact on economic growth will also stop within about a decade. This is like a young lizard whose growth is temporarily stunted, but it then resumes once the root cause is removed. The quicker the problem is solved, the better off the lizard will be in adulthood.
Dana Nuccitelli 28:52
Most Recent research suggests that this third scenario might be true for the economy. And so quickly stopping climate change by reaching Net Zero climate pollution could save tens to hundreds of trillions of dollars in wealth for the next generations. That’s why most economists agree the faster we act on climate change, the better it will be for the economy. That’s especially true if we use a market-based solution like putting a price on carbon pollution. That way, we can see the true price of products, including their climate costs, like a chameleon turning off its camouflage.
Dana Nuccitelli 29:32
I’m Dana Nuccitelli with The Nerd Corner. Thanks for being curious and for your commitment to climate progress. To join the discussion about climate science, technology, Economics, and Policy with the CCL research team, check out the nerd corner at CCLusa.org/nerd-corner That CCLusa.org/nerd-corner. I hope to see you there.
Peterson Toscano 29:58
If you have a question for Dana, email us at radio @ citizens climate.org. We will make sure he gets it. To read more of Dana’s analysis, visit CCLusa.org/nerdcorner.
Peterson Toscano 30:15
This month, we premiere Why Climate a new regular feature of our show. We speak with climate action figures engaged in some sort of climate-related work and ask them, Why Climate? Out of all the issues crying out for your attention. Why this issue? Today we feature a volunteer for Citizens Climate Lobby, James Hollywood.
James Earl Hollywood III 30:40
I live in Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland. I was born and raised in Southeast Missouri. I’m a father of nine, African American. I love to walk in nature. I just love the outdoors. But I’m also what you would call someone that is more of a moderate. Growing up I have witnessed the impacts and environmental degredation on marginalized communities. These experiences instilled in me a profound understanding that climate change is not just an environmental issue. My reflection and this lifelong commitment towards social change. It’s ensuring that everyone regardless of background has the opportunity to live a healthy in a sustainable environment. I believe in the power of community and the importance of giving voices to those who are often unheard. These beliefs have driven my efforts to bridging gaps and building strong, inclusive coalitions for climate action.
James Earl Hollywood III 31:37
Working with diverse groups of people, I see that climate solutions can unite us. It transcends political and social boundaries. My dedication towards this work is deeply personal. As a father, I’m driven towards the desire to create a more sustainable and adjust world for my children, your children, our generations and future generations. I want to see them inherit a planet that is thriving, where there’s clean air and clean water not just luxuries, but basic human rights. One of the most fulfilling aspects of this work is seeing the positive changes that collaborative effort can bring. Whether it’s advocating for renewable energy projects or supporting like local climate initiatives, or lobbying for comprehensive climate policies. Every action that we take brings us closer to a better future. So that’s Hhy Climate.
Peterson Toscano 32:42
That was CCL volunteer James Hollywood the third. He lives in Endicott City, Maryland. Thank you, James for letting us know why you are seeking climate change solutions. For you listening if you would like to be on the show to explain Why Climate? email me radio at citizens climate.org Or call our voicemail line 619-512-9646 I will repeat these contact details at the end of the show or visit CCL usa.org/radio.
Peterson Toscano 33:25
Our good news story today comes from Tamra Staton CCLs education and resilience coordinator take it away Tamara.
Tamara Staton 33:32
In April, Citizens Climate Lobby set an ambitious goal to mobilize its network and spark meaningful dialogues on climate action. The results have been nothing short of remarkable. Over 27,000 conversations took place, and the numbers are still growing. Citizens Climate Lobby’s campaign didn’t just stay within the confines of their established network. It’s spread far and wide, reaching 1000s of participants across all 50 states. The impact was felt across various platforms with over 40,000 Social media impressions from CCLs national accounts alone.
Tamara Staton 34:05
The campaign’s success can also be measured through the 579 feedback forms submitted by participants providing valuable insights and stories from these climate conversations. Interestingly, just over 60% of these events were associated with Earth Day, but volunteers also participated in a wide variety of settings from Toastmasters meetings and city council gatherings, to green thumb festivals, book clubs and electric vehicle fairs. CCL volunteers found numerous opportunities to discuss climate change.
Tamara Staton 34:36
This campaign highlights the power of personal engagement and grassroots activism in driving climate action. It’s a testament to the dedication of CCL volunteers who are willing to step up, start conversations, and inspire others to take action. Such efforts underscore the importance of local and personal advocacy and addressing global challenges like climate change. Each conversation is a step towards greater awareness and collective action. The success of CCL’s campaign demonstrates that when individuals come together with a common purpose, they can achieve extraordinary outcomes.
Tamara Staton 35:09
So here’s to all the incredible Citizens Climate volunteers who made this campaign a success. Your efforts are making a difference, one conversation at a time. Let’s continue to engage, inspire and drive the change we wish to see in the world to find out about other monthly campaigns visit CCLusa.org/action. Back to you, Peterson.
Peterson Toscano 35:33
Thank you, Tamra. By the way, I just looked at the CCL conversations page, and I see there are now over 35,000 reported conversations. You can join the Campaign by Visiting CCLusa.org/conversation.
Peterson Toscano 35:57
And that was Tamra state, and CCL is education and resilience coordinator. You’ll hear her next month in the Resilience Corner. Email me if you have good news you want to share on the show: radio @ citizens climate.org. That’s radio @ citizens climate.org.
Peterson Toscano 36:12
As I said earlier in the show, I would love to hear your personal stories and how you connect them to climate change. My team and I also welcome your feedback, suggestions for guests or topics, and any good news you like to share. Feel free to send us an email radio @ citizens. climate.org, you can also text or leave a voicemail at 619-512-9646 and tell us your story of using art in your climate work. That email again is radio @ citizens climate.org or send a text or leave a voicemail at 619-512-9646
Peterson Toscano 36:52
Many thanks to the many people who have amplified our social media messages. On X.com thank you to Michael Cooper, the Arkansas chapter of CCl, Frances Stewart, M.D, Robert D. Evans, Bill Nash, Jane Haigh, 1.5, CCL Alameda, CCL Bellevue, Washington, and Jean Lloyd Larson. We are still building our TikTok account, which you can follow @climatechangepodcast. Thanks to the following people for their comments and repostings: Linda Jay Reed, JackAsh007, Jan Cleveringa, Climate Countdown, The Green Journey, and Dr. Dana R. Fisher, who we will have the show next month.
Peterson Toscano 37:43
Dr. Fisher wrote “Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action.” She will tell us about her book and will read from it. Next month’s episode also includes students from Bucknell University who created audio soundscapes of how they feel about climate change, plus new installments of the CCL Youth Corner, The Resilience Corner and our latest feature Why Climate?
Peterson Toscano 38:13
Thank you for joining me for episode 97 of Citizens Climate Radio. We want to hear your feedback about this episode. After you listen feel free to fill out a short survey. You will find a link to the survey in our show notes or just email me radio @ citizens climate.org.
Peterson Toscano 38:32
Citizens Climate Radio is written and produced by me Peterson Toscano, along with the CCR team, Erik Valdez, Porus, Mo, Dana Nuccitelli, and Tamara Staton. Other technical support from Ricky Bradley and Brett Cease. Social media assistance from Flannery Winchester. Moral support from Madeline Para. The music on today’s show comes from Epidemic Sound.
Peterson Toscano 38:56
Please share Citizens Climate Radio with your friends and colleagues. You can find our show wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen at Northernspiritradio.org You can follow us on Twitter or X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and TikTok. And of course, call or text our listener voicemail line at 619-512-9646, plus one If you’re calling from outside the USA. You can tell I’m really trying to get you to call, right? That number again is 619-512-9646. Visit CCLusa.org/radio To see our show notes and find links to our guests. Citizens Climate Radio is a project of Citizens Climate Education.
The post Episode 97: Crafting Compelling Personal Climate Change Stories appeared first on Citizens' Climate Lobby.
Episode 97: Crafting Compelling Personal Climate Change Stories
Drought and heatwaves occurring together – known as “compound” events – have “surged” across the world since the early 2000s, a new study shows.
Compound drought and heat events (CDHEs) can have devastating effects, creating the ideal conditions for intense wildfires, such as Australia’s “Black Summer” of 2019-20 where bushfires burned 24m hectares and killed 33 people.
The research, published in Science Advances, finds that the increase in CDHEs is predominantly being driven by events that start with a heatwave.
The global area affected by such “heatwave-led” compound events has more than doubled between 1980-2001 and 2002-23, the study says.
The rapid increase in these events over the last 23 years cannot be explained solely by global warming, the authors note.
Since the late 1990s, feedbacks between the land and the atmosphere have become stronger, making heatwaves more likely to trigger drought conditions, they explain.
One of the study authors tells Carbon Brief that societies must pay greater attention to compound events, which can “cause severe impacts on ecosystems, agriculture and society”.
Compound events
CDHEs are extreme weather events where drought and heatwave conditions occur simultaneously – or shortly after each other – in the same region.
These events are often triggered by large-scale weather patterns, such as “blocking” highs, which can produce “prolonged” hot and dry conditions, according to the study.
Prof Sang-Wook Yeh is one of the study authors and a professor at the Ewha Womans University in South Korea. He tells Carbon Brief:
“When heatwaves and droughts occur together, the two hazards reinforce each other through land-atmosphere interactions. This amplifies surface heating and soil moisture deficits, making compound events more intense and damaging than single hazards.”
CDHEs can begin with either a heatwave or a drought.
The sequence of these extremes is important, the study says, as they have different drivers and impacts.
For example, in a CDHE where the heatwave was the precursor, increased direct sunshine causes more moisture loss from soils and plants, leading to a drought.
Conversely, in an event where the drought was the precursor, the lack of soil moisture means that less of the sun’s energy goes into evaporation and more goes into warming the Earth’s surface. This produces favourable conditions for heatwaves.
The study shows that the majority of CDHEs globally start out as a drought.
In recent years, there has been increasing focus on these events due to the devastating impact they have on agriculture, ecosystems and public health.
In Russia in the summer of 2010, a compound drought-heatwave event – and the associated wildfires – caused the death of nearly 55,000 people, the study notes.
The record-breaking Pacific north-west “heat dome” in 2021 triggered extreme drought conditions that caused “significant declines” in wheat yields, as well as in barley, canola and fruit production in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, says the study.
Increasing events
To assess how CDHEs are changing, the researchers use daily reanalysis data to identify droughts and heatwaves events. (Reanalysis data combines past observations with climate models to create a historical climate record.) Then, using an algorithm, they analyse how these events overlap in both time and space.
The study covers the period from 1980 to 2023 and the world’s land surface, excluding polar regions where CDHEs are rare.
The research finds that the area of land affected by CDHEs has “increased substantially” since the early 2000s.
Heatwave-led events have been the main contributor to this increase, the study says, with their spatial extent rising 110% between 1980-2001 and 2002-23, compared to a 59% increase for drought-led events.
The map below shows the global distribution of CDHEs over 1980-2023. The charts show the percentage of the land surface affected by a heatwave-led CDHE (red) or a drought-led CDHE (yellow) in a given year (left) and relative increase in each CDHE type (right).
The study finds that CDHEs have occurred most frequently in northern South America, the southern US, eastern Europe, central Africa and south Asia.
Threshold passed
The authors explain that the increase in heatwave-led CDHEs is related to rising global temperatures, but that this does not tell the whole story.
In the earlier 22-year period of 1980-2001, the study finds that the spatial extent of heatwave-led CDHEs rises by 1.6% per 1C of global temperature rise. For the more-recent period of 2022-23, this increases “nearly eightfold” to 13.1%.
The change suggests that the rapid increase in the heatwave-led CDHEs occurred after the global average temperature “surpasse[d] a certain temperature threshold”, the paper says.
This threshold is an absolute global average temperature of 14.3C, the authors estimate (based on an 11-year average), which the world passed around the year 2000.
Investigating the recent surge in heatwave-leading CDHEs further, the researchers find a “regime shift” in land-atmosphere dynamics “toward a persistently intensified state after the late 1990s”.
In other words, the way that drier soils drive higher surface temperatures, and vice versa, is becoming stronger, resulting in more heatwave-led compound events.
Daily data
The research has some advantages over other previous studies, Yeh says. For instance, the new work uses daily estimations of CDHEs, compared to monthly data used in past research. This is “important for capturing the detailed occurrence” of these events, says Yeh.
He adds that another advantage of their study is that it distinguishes the sequence of droughts and heatwaves, which allows them to “better understand the differences” in the characteristics of CDHEs.
Dr Meryem Tanarhte is a climate scientist at the University Hassan II in Morocco, and Dr Ruth Cerezo Mota is a climatologist and a researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Both scientists, who were not involved in the study, agree that the daily estimations give a clearer picture of how CDHEs are changing.
Cerezo-Mota adds that another major contribution of the study is its global focus. She tells Carbon Brief that in some regions, such as Mexico and Africa, there is a lack of studies on CDHEs:
“Not because the events do not occur, but perhaps because [these regions] do not have all the data or the expertise to do so.”
However, she notes that the reanalysis data used by the study does have limitations with how it represents rainfall in some parts of the world.
Compound impacts
The study notes that if CDHEs continue to intensify – particularly events where heatwaves are the precursors – they could drive declining crop productivity, increased wildfire frequency and severe public health crises.
These impacts could be “much more rapid and severe as global warming continues”, Yeh tells Carbon Brief.
Tanarhte notes that these events can be forecasted up to 10 days ahead in many regions. Furthermore, she says, the strongest impacts can be prevented “through preparedness and adaptation”, including through “water management for agriculture, heatwave mitigation measures and wildfire mitigation”.
The study recommends reassessing current risk management strategies for these compound events. It also suggests incorporating the sequences of drought and heatwaves into compound event analysis frameworks “to enhance climate risk management”.
Cerezo-Mota says that it is clear that the world needs to be prepared for the increased occurrence of these events. She tells Carbon Brief:
“These [risk assessments and strategies] need to be carried out at the local level to understand the complexities of each region.”
The post Heatwaves driving recent ‘surge’ in compound drought and heat extremes appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Heatwaves driving recent ‘surge’ in compound drought and heat extremes
Greenhouse Gases
DeBriefed 6 March 2026: Iran energy crisis | China climate plan | Bristol’s ‘pioneering’ wind turbine
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed.
An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.
This week
Energy crisis
ENERGY SPIKE: US-Israeli attacks on Iran and subsequent counterattacks across the Middle East have sent energy prices “soaring”, according to Reuters. The newswire reported that the region “accounts for just under a third of global oil production and almost a fifth of gas”. The Guardian noted that shipping traffic through the strait of Hormuz, which normally ferries 20% of the world’s oil, “all but ground to a halt”. The Financial Times reported that attacks by Iran on Middle East energy facilities – notably in Qatar – triggered the “biggest rise in gas prices since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine”.
‘RISK’ AND ‘BENEFITS’: Bloomberg reported on increases in diesel prices in Europe and the US, speculating that rising fuel costs could be “a risk for president Donald Trump”. US gas producers are “poised to benefit from the big disruption in global supply”, according to CNBC. Indian government sources told the Economic Times that Russia is prepared to “fulfil India’s energy demands”. China Daily quoted experts who said “China’s energy security remains fundamentally unshaken”, thanks to “emergency stockpiles and a wide array of import channels”.
‘ESSENTIAL’ RENEWABLES: Energy analysts said governments should cut their fossil-fuel reliance by investing in renewables, “rather than just seeking non-Gulf oil and gas suppliers”, reported Climate Home News. This message was echoed by UK business secretary Peter Kyle, who said “doubling down on renewables” was “essential” amid “regional instability”, according to the Daily Telegraph.
China’s climate plan
PEAK COAL?: China has set out its next “five-year plan” at the annual “two sessions” meeting of the National People’s Congress, including its climate strategy out to 2030, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. The plan called for China to cut its carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 17% from 2026 to 2030, which “may allow for continued increase in emissions given the rate of GDP growth”, reported Reuters. The newswire added that the plan also had targets to reach peak coal in the next five years and replace 30m tonnes per year of coal with renewables.
ACTIVE YET PRUDENT: Bloomberg described the new plan as “cautious”, stating that it “frustrat[es] hopes for tighter policy that would drive the nation to peak carbon emissions well before president Xi Jinping’s 2030 deadline”. Carbon Brief has just published an in-depth analysis of the plan. China Daily reported that the strategy “highlights measures to promote the climate targets of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030”, which China said it would work towards “actively yet prudently”.
Around the world
- EU RULES: The European Commission has proposed new “made in Europe” rules to support domestic low-carbon industries, “against fierce competition from China”, reported Agence France-Presse. Carbon Brief examined what it means for climate efforts.
- RECORD HEAT: The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said there is a 50-60% chance that the El Niño weather pattern could return this year, amplifying the effect of global warming and potentially driving temperatures to “record highs”, according to Euronews.
- FLAGSHIP FUND: The African Development Bank’s “flagship clean energy fund” plans to more than double its financing to $2.5bn for African renewables over the next two years, reported the Associated Press.
- NO WITHDRAWAL: Vanuatu has defied US efforts to force the Pacific-island nation to drop a UN draft resolution calling on the world to implement a landmark International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on climate, according to the Guardian.
98
The number of nations that submitted their national reports on tackling nature loss to the UN on time – just half of the 196 countries that are part of the UN biodiversity treaty – according to analysis by Carbon Brief.
Latest climate research
- Sea levels are already “much higher than assumed” in most assessments of the threat posed by sea-level rise, due to “inadequate” modelling assumptions | Nature
- Accelerating human-caused global warming could see the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C limit crossed before 2030 | Geophysical Research Letters covered by Carbon Brief
- Future “super El Niño events” could “significantly lower” solar power generation due to a reduction in solar irradiance in key regions, such as California and east China | Communications Earth & Environment
(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)
Captured
UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 fell to 54% below 1990 levels, the baseline year for its legally binding climate goals, according to new Carbon Brief analysis. Over the same period, data from the World Bank shows that the UK’s economy has expanded by 95%, meaning that emissions have been decoupling from growth.
Spotlight
Bristol’s ‘pioneering’ community wind turbine
Following the recent launch of the UK government’s local power plan, Carbon Brief visits one of the country’s community-energy success stories.
The Lawrence Weston housing estate is set apart from the main city of Bristol, wedged between the tree-lined grounds of a stately home and a sprawl of warehouses and waste incinerators. It is one of the most deprived areas in the city.
Yet, just across the M5 motorway stands a structure that has brought the spoils of the energy transition directly to this historically forgotten estate – a 4.2 megawatt (MW) wind turbine.
The turbine is owned by local charity Ambition Lawrence Weston and all the profits from its electricity sales – around £100,000 a year – go to the community. In the UK’s local power plan, it was singled out by energy secretary Ed Miliband as a “pioneering” project.
‘Sustainable income’
On a recent visit to the estate by Carbon Brief, Ambition Lawrence Weston’s development manager, Mark Pepper, rattled off the story behind the wind turbine.
In 2012, Pepper and his team were approached by the Bristol Energy Cooperative with a chance to get a slice of the income from a new solar farm. They jumped at the opportunity.
“Austerity measures were kicking in at the time,” Pepper told Carbon Brief. “We needed to generate an income. Our own, sustainable income.”
With the solar farm proving to be a success, the team started to explore other opportunities. This began a decade-long process that saw them navigate the Conservative government’s “ban” on onshore wind, raise £5.5m in funding and, ultimately, erect the turbine in 2023.
Today, the turbine generates electricity equivalent to Lawrence Weston’s 3,000 households and will save 87,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) over its lifetime.
‘Climate by stealth’
Ambition Lawrence Weston’s hub is at the heart of the estate and the list of activities on offer is seemingly endless: birthday parties, kickboxing, a library, woodworking, help with employment and even a pop-up veterinary clinic. All supported, Pepper said, with the help of a steady income from community-owned energy.
The centre itself is kitted out with solar panels, heat pumps and electric-vehicle charging points, making it a living advertisement for the net-zero transition. Pepper noted that the organisation has also helped people with energy costs amid surging global gas prices.
Gesturing to the England flags dangling limply on lamp posts visible from the kitchen window, he said:
“There’s a bit of resentment around immigration and scarcity of materials and provision, so we’re trying to do our bit around community cohesion.”
This includes supper clubs and an interfaith grand iftar during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Anti-immigration sentiment in the UK has often gone hand-in-hand with opposition to climate action. Right-wing politicians and media outlets promote the idea that net-zero policies will cost people a lot of money – and these ideas have cut through with the public.
Pepper told Carbon Brief he is sympathetic to people’s worries about costs and stressed that community energy is the perfect way to win people over:
“I think the only way you can change that is if, instead of being passive consumers…communities are like us and they’re generating an income to offset that.”
From the outset, Pepper stressed that “we weren’t that concerned about climate because we had other, bigger pressures”, adding:
“But, in time, we’ve delivered climate by stealth.”
Watch, read, listen
OIL WATCH: The Guardian has published a “visual guide” with charts and videos showing how the “escalating Iran conflict is driving up oil and gas prices”.
MURDER IN HONDURAS: Ten years on from the murder of Indigenous environmental justice advocate Berta Cáceres, Drilled asked why Honduras is still so dangerous for environmental activists.
TALKING WEATHER: A new film, narrated by actor Michael Sheen and titled You Told Us To Talk About the Weather, aimed to promote conversation about climate change with a blend of “poetry, folk horror and climate storytelling”.
Coming up
- 8 March: Colombia parliamentary election
- 9-19 March: 31st Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority, Kingston, Jamaica
- 11 March: UN Environment Programme state of finance for nature 2026 report launch
Pick of the jobs
- London School of Economics and Political Science, fellow in the social science of sustainability | Salary: £43,277-£51,714. Location: London
- NORCAP, innovative climate finance expert | Salary: Unknown. Location: Kyiv, Ukraine
- WBHM, environmental reporter | Salary: $50,050-$81,330. Location: Birmingham, Alabama, US
- Climate Cabinet, data engineer | Salary: hourly rate of $60-$120 per hour. Location: Remote anywhere in the US
DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.
This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.
The post DeBriefed 6 March 2026: Iran energy crisis | China climate plan | Bristol’s ‘pioneering’ wind turbine appeared first on Carbon Brief.
China’s leadership has published a draft of its 15th five-year plan setting the strategic direction for the nation out to 2030, including support for clean energy and energy security.
The plan sets a target to cut China’s “carbon intensity” by 17% over the five years from 2026-30, but also changes the basis for calculating this key climate metric.
The plan continues to signal support for China’s clean-energy buildout and, in general, contains no major departures from the country’s current approach to the energy transition.
The government reaffirms support for several clean-energy industries, ranging from solar and electric vehicles (EVs) through to hydrogen and “new-energy” storage.
The plan also emphasises China’s willingness to steer climate governance and be seen as a provider of “global public goods”, in the form of affordable clean-energy technologies.
However, while the document says it will “promote the peaking” of coal and oil use, it does not set out a timeline and continues to call for the “clean and efficient” use of coal.
This shows that tensions remain between China’s climate goals and its focus on energy security, leading some analysts to raise concerns about its carbon-cutting ambition.
Below, Carbon Brief outlines the key climate change and energy aspects of the plan, including targets for carbon intensity, non-fossil energy and forestry.
Note: this article is based on a draft published on 5 March and will be updated if any significant changes are made in the final version of the plan, due to be released at the close next week of the “two sessions” meeting taking place in Beijing.
- What is China’s 15th five-year plan?
- What does the plan say about China’s climate action?
- What is China’s new CO2 intensity target?
- Does the plan encourage further clean-energy additions?
- What does the plan signal about coal?
- How will China approach global climate governance in the next five years?
- What else does the plan cover?
What is China’s 15th five-year plan?
Five-year plans are one of the most important documents in China’s political system.
Addressing everything from economic strategy to climate policy, they outline the planned direction for China’s socio-economic development in a five-year period. The 15th five-year plan covers 2026-30.
These plans include several “main goals”. These are largely quantitative indicators that are seen as particularly important to achieve and which provide a foundation for subsequent policies during the five-year period.
The table below outlines some of the key “main goals” from the draft 15th five-year plan.
| Category | Indicator | Indicator in 2025 | Target by 2030 | Cumulative target over 2026-2030 | Characteristic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic development | Gross domestic product (GDP) growth (%) | 5 | Maintained within a reasonable range and proposed annually as appropriate. | Anticipatory | |
| ‘Green and low-carbon | Reduction in CO2 emissions per unit of GDP (%) | 17.7 | 17 | Binding | |
| Share of non-fossil energy in total energy consumption (%) | 21.7 | 25 | Binding | ||
| Security guarantee | Comprehensive energy production capacity (100m tonnes of standard coal equivalent) |
51.3 | 58 | Binding |
Select list of targets highlighted in the “main goals” section of the draft 15th five-year plan. Source: Draft 15th five-year plan.
Since the 12th five-year plan, covering 2011-2015, these “main goals” have included energy intensity and carbon intensity as two of five key indicators for “green ecology”.
The previous five-year plan, which ran from 2021-2025, introduced the idea of an absolute “cap” on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, although it did not provide an explicit figure in the document. This has been subsequently addressed by a policy on the “dual-control of carbon” issued in 2024.
The latest plan removes the energy-intensity goal and elevates the carbon-intensity goal, but does not set an absolute cap on emissions (see below).
It covers the years until 2030, before which China has pledged to peak its carbon emissions. (Analysis for Carbon Brief found that emissions have been “flat or falling” since March 2024.)
The plans are released at the two sessions, an annual gathering of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). This year, it runs from 4-12 March.
The plans are often relatively high-level, with subsequent topic-specific five-year plans providing more concrete policy guidance.
Policymakers at the National Energy Agency (NEA) have indicated that in the coming years they will release five sector-specific plans for 2026-2030, covering topics such as the “new energy system”, electricity and renewable energy.
There may also be specific five-year plans covering carbon emissions and environmental protection, as well as the coal and nuclear sectors, according to analysts.
Other documents published during the two sessions include an annual government work report, which outlines key targets and policies for the year ahead.
The gathering is attended by thousands of deputies – delegates from across central and local governments, as well as Chinese Communist party members, members of other political parties, academics, industry leaders and other prominent figures.
What does the plan say about China’s climate action?
Achieving China’s climate targets will remain a key driver of the country’s policies in the next five years, according to the draft 15th five-year plan.
It lists the “acceleration” of China’s energy transition as a “major achievement” in the 14th five-year plan period (2021-2025), noting especially how clean-power capacity had overtaken fossil fuels.
The draft says China will “actively and steadily advance and achieve carbon peaking”, with policymakers continuing to strike a balance between building a “green economy” and ensuring stability.
Climate and environment continues to receive its own chapter in the plan. However, the framing and content of this chapter has shifted subtly compared with previous editions, as shown in the table below. For example, unlike previous plans, the first section of this chapter focuses on China’s goal to peak emissions.
| 11th five-year plan (2006-2010) | 12th five-year plan (2011-2015) | 13th five-year plan (2016-2020) | 14th five-year plan (2021-2025) | 15th five-year plan (2026-2030) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter title | Part 6: Build a resource-efficient and environmentally-friendly society | Part 6: Green development, building a resource-efficient and environmentally friendly society | Part 10: Ecosystems and the environment | Part 11: Promote green development and facilitate the harmonious coexistence of people and nature | Part 13: Accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development to build a beautiful China |
| Sections | Developing a circular economy | Actively respond to global climate change | Accelerate the development of functional zones | Improve the quality and stability of ecosystems | Actively and steadily advancing and achieving carbon peaking |
| Protecting and restoring natural ecosystems | Strengthen resource conservation and management | Promote economical and intensive resource use | Continue to improve environmental quality | Continuously improving environmental quality | |
| Strengthening environmental protection | Vigorously develop the circular economy | Step up comprehensive environmental governance | Accelerate the green transformation of the development model | Enhancing the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems | |
| Enhancing resource management | Strengthen environmental protection efforts | Intensify ecological conservation and restoration | Accelerating the formation of green production and lifestyles | ||
| Rational utilisation of marine and climate resources | Promoting ecological conservation and restoration | Respond to global climate change | |||
| Strengthen the development of water conservancy and disaster prevention and mitigation systems | Improve mechanisms for ensuring ecological security | ||||
| Develop green and environmentally-friendly industries |
Title and main sections of the climate and environment-focused chapters in the last five five-year plans. Source: China’s 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th five-year plans.
The climate and environment chapter in the latest plan calls for China to “balance [economic] development and emission reduction” and “ensure the timely achievement of carbon peak targets”.
Under the plan, China will “continue to pursue” its established direction and objectives on climate, Prof Li Zheng, dean of the Tsinghua University Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development (ICCSD), tells Carbon Brief.
What is China’s new CO2 intensity target?
In the lead-up to the release of the plan, analysts were keenly watching for signals around China’s adoption of a system for the “dual-control of carbon”.
This would combine the existing targets for carbon intensity – the CO2 emissions per unit of GDP – with a new cap on China’s total carbon emissions. This would mark a dramatic step for the country, which has never before set itself a binding cap on total emissions.
Policymakers had said last year that this framework would come into effect during the 15th five-year plan period, replacing the previous system for the “dual-control of energy”.
However, the draft 15th five-year plan does not offer further details on when or how both parts of the dual-control of carbon system will be implemented. Instead, it continues to focus on carbon intensity targets alone.
Looking back at the previous five-year plan period, the latest document says China had achieved a carbon-intensity reduction of 17.7%, just shy of its 18% goal.
This is in contrast with calculations by Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), which had suggested that China had only cut its carbon intensity by 12% over the past five years.
At the time it was set in 2021, the 18% target had been seen as achievable, with analysts telling Carbon Brief that they expected China to realise reductions of 20% or more.
However, the government had fallen behind on meeting the target.
Last year, ecology and environment minister Huang Runqiu attributed this to the Covid-19 pandemic, extreme weather and trade tensions. He said that China, nevertheless, remained “broadly” on track to meet its 2030 international climate pledge of reducing carbon intensity by more than 65% from 2005 levels.
Myllyvirta tells Carbon Brief that the newly reported figure showing a carbon-intensity reduction of 17.7% is likely due to an “opportunistic” methodological revision. The new methodology now includes industrial process emissions – such as cement and chemicals – as well as the energy sector.
(This is not the first time China has redefined a target, with regulators changing the methodology for energy intensity in 2023.)
For the next five years, the plan sets a target to reduce carbon intensity by 17%, slightly below the previous goal.
However, the change in methodology means that this leaves space for China’s overall emissions to rise by “3-6% over the next five years”, says Myllyvirta. In contrast, he adds that the original methodology would have required a 2% fall in absolute carbon emissions by 2030.
The dashed lines in the chart below show China’s targets for reducing carbon intensity during the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th five-year periods, while the bars show what was achieved under the old (dark blue) and new (light blue) methodology.
The carbon-intensity target is the “clearest signal of Beijing’s climate ambition”, says Li Shuo, director at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s (ASPI) China climate hub.
It also links directly to China’s international pledge – made in 2021 – to cut its carbon intensity to more than 65% below 2005 levels by 2030.
To meet this pledge under the original carbon-intensity methodology, China would have needed to set a target of a 23% reduction within the 15th five-year plan period. However, the country’s more recent 2035 international climate pledge, released last year, did not include a carbon-intensity target.
As such, ASPI’s Li interprets the carbon-intensity target in the draft 15th five-year plan as a “quiet recalibration” that signals “how difficult the original 2030 goal has become”.
Furthermore, the 15th five-year plan does not set an absolute emissions cap.
This leaves “significant ambiguity” over China’s climate plans, says campaign group 350 in a press statement reacting to the draft plan. It explains:
“The plan was widely expected to mark a clearer transition from carbon-intensity targets toward absolute emissions reductions…[but instead] leaves significant ambiguity about how China will translate record renewable deployment into sustained emissions cuts.”
Myllyvirta tells Carbon Brief that this represents a “continuation” of the government’s focus on scaling up clean-energy supply while avoiding setting “strong measurable emission targets”.
He says that he would still expect to see absolute caps being set for power and industrial sectors covered by China’s emissions trading scheme (ETS). In addition, he thinks that an overall absolute emissions cap may still be published later in the five-year period.
Despite the fact that it has yet to be fully implemented, the switch from dual-control of energy to dual-control of carbon represents a “major policy evolution”, Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), tells Carbon Brief. He says that it will allow China to “provide more flexibility for renewable energy expansion while tightening the net on fossil-fuel reliance”.
Does the plan encourage further clean-energy additions?
“How quickly carbon intensity is reduced largely depends on how much renewable energy can be supplied,” says Yao Zhe, global policy advisor at Greenpeace East Asia, in a statement.
The five-year plan continues to call for China’s development of a “new energy system that is clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient” by 2030, with continued additions of “wind, solar, hydro and nuclear power”.
In line with China’s international pledge, it sets a target for raising the share of non-fossil energy in total energy consumption to 25% by 2030, up from just under 21.7% in 2025.
The development of “green factories” and “zero-carbon [industrial] parks” has been central to many local governments’ strategies for meeting the non-fossil energy target, according to industry news outlet BJX News. A call to build more of these zero-carbon industrial parks is listed in the five-year plan.
Prof Pan Jiahua, dean of Beijing University of Technology’s Institute of Ecological Civilization, tells Carbon Brief that expanding demand for clean energy through mechanisms such as “green factories” represents an increasingly “bottom-up” and “market-oriented” approach to the energy transition, which will leave “no place for fossil fuels”.
He adds that he is “very much sure that China’s zero-carbon process is being accelerated and fossil fuels are being driven out of the market”, pointing to the rapid adoption of EVs.
The plan says that China will aim to double “non-fossil energy” in 10 years – although it does not clarify whether this means their installed capacity or electricity generation, or what the exact starting year would be.
Research has shown that doubling wind and solar capacity in China between 2025-2035 would be “consistent” with aims to limit global warming to 2C.
While the language “certainly” pushes for greater additions of renewable energy, Yao tells Carbon Brief, it is too “opaque” to be a “direct indication” of the government’s plans for renewable additions.
She adds that “grid stability and healthy, orderly competition” is a higher priority for policymakers than guaranteeing a certain level of capacity additions.
China continues to place emphasis on the need for large-scale clean-energy “bases” and cross-regional power transmission.
The plan says China must develop “clean-energy bases…in the three northern regions” and “integrated hydro-wind-solar complexes” in south-west China.
It specifically encourages construction of “large-scale wind and solar” power bases in desert regions “primarily” for cross-regional power transmission, as well as “major hydropower” projects, including the Yarlung Tsangpo dam in Tibet.
As such, the country should construct “power-transmission corridors” with the capacity to send 420 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from clean-energy bases in western provinces to energy-hungry eastern provinces by 2030, the plan says.
State Grid, China’s largest grid operator, plans to install “another 15 ultra-high voltage [UHV] transmission lines” by 2030, reports Reuters, up from the 45 UHV lines built by last year.
Below are two maps illustrating the interlinkages between clean-energy bases in China in the 15th (top) and 14th (bottom) five-year plan periods.
The yellow dotted areas represent clean energy bases, while the arrows represent cross-regional power transmission. The blue wind-turbine icons represent offshore windfarms and the red cooling tower icons represent coastal nuclear plants.
The 15th five-year plan map shows a consistent approach to the 2021-2025 period. As well as power being transmitted from west to east, China plans for more power to be sent to southern provinces from clean-energy bases in the north-west, while clean-energy bases in the north-east supply China’s eastern coast.
It also maps out “mutual assistance” schemes for power grids in neighbouring provinces.
Offshore wind power should reach 100GW by 2030, while nuclear power should rise to 110GW, according to the plan.
What does the plan signal about coal?
The increased emphasis on grid infrastructure in the draft 15th five-year plan reflects growing concerns from energy planning officials around ensuring China’s energy supply.
Ren Yuzhi, director of the NEA’s development and planning department, wrote ahead of the plan’s release that the “continuous expansion” of China’s energy system has “dramatically increased its complexity”.
He said the NEA felt there was an “urgent need” to enhance the “secure and reliable” replacement of fossil-fuel power with new energy sources, as well as to ensure the system’s “ability to absorb them”.
Meanwhile, broader concerns around energy security have heightened calls for coal capacity to remain in the system as a “ballast stone”.
The plan continues to support the “clean and efficient utilisation of fossil fuels” and does not mention either a cap or peaking timeline for coal consumption.
Xi had previously told fellow world leaders that China would “strictly control” coal-fired power and phase down coal consumption in the 15th five-year plan period.
The “geopolitical situation is increasing energy security concerns” at all levels of government, said the Institute for Global Decarbonization Progress in a note responding to the draft plan, adding that this was creating “uncertainty over coal reduction”.
Ahead of its publication, there were questions around whether the plan would set a peaking deadline for oil and coal. An article posted by state news agency Xinhua last month, examining recommendations for the plan from top policymakers, stated that coal consumption would plateau from “around 2027”, while oil would peak “around 2026”.
However, the plan does not lay out exact years by which the two fossil fuels should peak, only saying that China will “promote the peaking of coal and oil consumption”.
There are similarly no mentions of phasing out coal in general, in line with existing policy.
Nevertheless, there is a heavy emphasis on retrofitting coal-fired power plants. The plan calls for the establishment of “demonstration projects” for coal-plant retrofitting, such as through co-firing with biomass or “green ammonia”.
Such retrofitting could incentivise lower utilisation of coal plants – and thus lower emissions – if they are used to flexibly meet peaks in demand and to cover gaps in clean-energy output, instead of providing a steady and significant share of generation.
The plan also calls for officials to “fully implement low-carbon retrofitting projects for coal-chemical industries”, which have been a notable source of emissions growth in the past year.
However, the coal-chemicals sector will likely remain a key source of demand for China’s coal mining industry, with coal-to-oil and coal-to-gas bases listed as a “key area” for enhancing the country’s “security capabilities”.
Meanwhile, coal-fired boilers and industrial kilns in the paper industry, food processing and textiles should be replaced with “clean” alternatives to the equivalent of 30m tonnes of coal consumption per year, it says.
“China continues to scale up clean energy at an extraordinary pace, but the plan still avoids committing to strong measurable constraints on emissions or fossil fuel use”, says Joseph Dellatte, head of energy and climate studies at the Institut Montaigne. He adds:
“The logic remains supply-driven: deploy massive amounts of clean energy and assume emissions will eventually decline.”
How will China approach global climate governance in the next five years?
Meanwhile, clean-energy technologies continue to play a role in upgrading China’s economy, with several “new energy” sectors listed as key to its industrial policy.
Named sectors include smart EVs, “new solar cells”, new-energy storage, hydrogen and nuclear fusion energy.
“China’s clean-technology development – rather than traditional administrative climate controls – is increasingly becoming the primary driver of emissions reduction,” says ASPI’s Li. He adds that strengthening China’s clean-energy sectors means “more closely aligning Beijing’s economic ambitions with its climate objectives”.
Analysis for Carbon Brief shows that clean energy drove more than a third of China’s GDP growth in 2025, representing around 11% of China’s whole economy.
The continued support for these sectors in the draft five-year plan comes as the EU outlined its own measures intended to limit China’s hold on clean-energy industries, driven by accusations of “unfair competition” from Chinese firms.
China is unlikely to crack down on clean-tech production capacity, Dr Rebecca Nadin, director of the Centre for Geopolitics of Change at ODI Global, tells Carbon Brief. She says:
“Beijing is treating overcapacity in solar and smart EVs as a strategic choice, not a policy error…and is prepared to pour investment into these sectors to cement global market share, jobs and technological leverage.”
Dellatte echoes these comments, noting that it is “striking” that the plan “barely addresses the issue of industrial overcapacity in clean technologies”, with the focus firmly on “scaling production and deployment”.
At the same time, China is actively positioning itself to be a prominent voice in climate diplomacy and a champion of proactive climate action.
This is clear from the first line in a section on providing “global public goods”. It says:
“As a responsible major country, China will play a more active role in addressing global challenges such as climate change.”
The plan notes that China will “actively participate in and steer [引领] global climate governance”, in line with the principle of “common,but differentiated responsibilities”.
This echoes similar language from last year’s government work report, Yao tells Carbon Brief, demonstrating a “clear willingness” to guide global negotiations. But she notes that this “remains an aspiration that’s yet to be made concrete”. She adds:
“China has always favored collective leadership, so its vision of leadership is never a lone one.”
The country will “deepen south-south cooperation on climate change”, the plan says. In an earlier section on “opening up”, it also notes that China will explore “new avenues for collaboration in green development” with global partners as part of its “Belt and Road Initiative”.
China is “doubling down” on a narrative that it is a “responsible major power” and “champion of south-south climate cooperation”, Nadin says, such as by “presenting its clean‑tech exports and finance as global public goods”. She says:
“China will arrive at future COPs casting itself as the indispensable climate leader for the global south…even though its new five‑year plan still puts growth, energy security and coal ahead of faster emissions cuts at home.”
What else does the plan cover?
The impact of extreme weather – particularly floods – remains a key concern in the plan.
China must “refine” its climate adaptation framework and “enhance its resilience to climate change, particularly extreme-weather events”, it says.
China also aims to “strengthen construction of a national water network” over the next five years in order to help prevent floods and droughts.
An article published a few days before the plan in the state-run newspaper China Daily noted that, “as global warming intensifies, extreme weather events – including torrential rains, severe convective storms, and typhoons – have become more frequent, widespread and severe”.
The plan also touches on critical minerals used for low-carbon technologies. These will likely remain a geopolitical flashpoint, with China saying it will focus during the next five years on “intensifying” exploration and “establishing” a reserve for critical minerals. This reserve will focus on “scarce” energy minerals and critical minerals, as well as other “advantageous mineral resources”.
Dellatte says that this could mean the “competition in the energy transition will increasingly be about control over mineral supply chains”.
Other low-carbon policies listed in the five-year plan include expanding coverage of China’s mandatory carbon market and further developing its voluntary carbon market.
China will “strengthen monitoring and control” of non-CO2 greenhouse gases, the plan says, as well as implementing projects “targeting methane, nitrous oxide and hydrofluorocarbons” in sectors such as coal mining, agriculture and chemicals.
This will create “capacity” for reducing emissions by 30m tonnes of CO2 equivalent, it adds.
Meanwhile, China will develop rules for carbon footprint accounting and push for internationally recognised accounting standards.
It will enhance reform of power markets over the next five years and improve the trading mechanism for green electricity certificates.
It will also “promote” adoption of low-carbon lifestyles and decarbonisation of transport, as well as working to advance electrification of freight and shipping.
The post Q&A: What does China’s 15th ‘five-year plan’ mean for climate change? appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Q&A: What does China’s 15th ‘five-year plan’ mean for climate change?
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