Love and Fear in a Warming World
Creativity, community, and deepening our commitment to tackling climate change
In a world that feels increasingly divided on climate change, here’s a surprising fact: the largest-ever global survey about attitudes to climate change found that across 130,000 people in 125 countries, over 85% held ‘pro-climate’ views and wanted their governments to do more to fight global warming. This significant majority held true even in the USA, and even across cultural and political divides.
The catch? Globally, by large margins people underestimate others’ willingness to act on climate change. In the USA, that rises to nearly half of respondents.
This ‘silent majority’ of pro-climate people are consumers, voters, and investors; they’re parents, students, and leaders of communities. Taken together, they have the power to shift the dial on how governments and businesses act on climate change. Yet as these studies show, this silent majority isn’t silent because it doesn’t care; it’s silent because it doesn’t realize it exists.
This perception gap does more than discourage action; it turns concern into paralysis. When you believe you’re in a minority of those who care, strong feelings that could fuel action instead trap you in inaction. Studies also document a measurable link between climate anxiety and increased loneliness and social isolation: a feedback loop where isolation breeds inaction, which breeds more isolation.
We rarely discuss the climate crisis, even with friends and family. This is important: when we share our feelings, concerns and commitment, we become significantly more willing to act.
This is where Love and Fear in a Warming World comes in.
Love and Fear in a Warming World is a workshop-based process that uses creative activities to take participants on a journey, as one participant put it, ‘from despair to hope.’ We believe it holds a key to activating the silent climate majority and driving more popular commitment to climate action.
There’s growing evidence that creative activities are a powerful way to help transform feelings of hopelessness, anger, and apathy into meaningful, impactful climate engagement. In this context, ‘creative’ isn’t about perfection or performance; it’s about discovering new ways to express what we think and feel, in a framework that’s free of judgment but rich in meaning.
I am fortunate to have co-created this work with Jigyasa Labroo, co-founder and CEO of the award-winning Indian youth arts charity, Slam Out Loud (we met through Oppi, a global network of education-focused change-makers). Since launching Love and Fear in 2023, we’ve convened sessions around the world, both in person and online.
The impact has often been profound. Organizational teams have found new ways to connect with sustainability goals; education leaders have discovered fresh ways to engage staff and students in climate discussions. A series of ‘town halls’ brought strangers together to share climate challenges and hopes, forging new connections. In the UK, a national politician led the development of a youth voter campaign focused on climate action and credited the spark of this idea to a Love and Fear session.
We are thrilled to bring Love and Fear in a Warming World to SOCAP25 in San Francisco, taking place October 27–29. We’d love to see you at our workshop on Capital Connections Day. If you can’t attend, you can still be part of the experience. Throughout SOCAP25, we’ll be ‘growing’ a Poetree in one of the public spaces: a co-created art installation where everyone is invited to contribute.
Joining the Poetree will be easy and something you can do amidst the joyful busy-ness of SOCAP25. By adding your voice, you’ll help strengthen the sense of solidarity and possibility that SOCAP25 is all about and take a small step towards a building a more climate-positive future.
Greg Klerkx is the founder of Climate Shift and a SOCAP25 Presenter.