1.5c. So, that’s the end of that story. 💩
Climate change is one of the biggest stories in recent history. It seems the hopeful story we told ourselves has ended.
As the BBC said “For the first time, global warming has exceeded 1.5C across an entire year, according to the EU's climate service. World leaders promised in 2015 to try to limit the long-term temperature rise to 1.5C.”1
Now, what should be said to those audiences around the world who watched in 2015. How do we communicate a mass failure? How do we tell people that the 1.5c story has ended.
Endings to stories are important. They establish important fundamentals for ourselves and wider society. Richard Neupert in his book The End, Narration and Closure in Film says that “solid closure in conventional narratives and histories satisfies individual and social desire for moral authority, a purposeful interpretation of life, and genuine stability”
In parallel, Elizabeth MacArthur in her book Extravagant Narratives calls it an “attempt to preserve the moral and social order which would be threatened by endlessly erring narratives.”
I am sure we are all feeling a sense of moral and social order being threatened because of this human made erring narrative of climate heating. But, how should the authorities that promised to keep heat below 1.5, tell us the end of this story?
Should they talk in a political style? Alluding to national initiatives, working with other countries. But that story is tired and our ears are exhausted. 😩
Should they use the communication style of science? Charts, complicated terms, carbon tonnage. Interesting, but is that the mass market language that people are going to engage in? 👽
Should they use the communication style of Hollywood. Where this 1.5 story has been ended, but also left on a cliff hanger? Another sequel coming soon…! 🤩
Should they use a pessimistic reality. Did we really trust the politicians? Did we really trust ourselves? Who can we point a finger at? Not sure that is any use. 😭
Or should we just carry on, scrolling on to another bit of news in collective denial – Taylor Swift has won this. King Charles is ill. The dollar is rising. The Dodgers won a game.
I think our collective psyche will go for the Hollywood style. We have started to hear about a new 2 degree centigrade sequel, and a future 3 degrees horror sequel. For example on the podcast The Rest is Politics, Bill Gates said “There’s no stopping us passing 2C.” He continued to explain details from that coming story “In temperate zone countries, in terms of your overall economy or livelihoods, it’s actually not a gigantic thing. Yes, you have to pay to make various changes, you have to have air conditioning.” He summarised with another potential story, although left the detail out with a classic cliff hanger horror story – “The really bad stuff is, say, you let it go above 3 degrees.”
How exciting for the climate change story franchise.
