Hope for the Future Hope for the Future: Talking to your MP about climate change
Campaigning group Hope for the Future are giving a talk in Sheffield about how ordinary citizens can speak to their MP about climate change.
The group's aim is to help constituents find common ground by "using language that speaks to their MP's values and interest", to persuade them to take action on the environment.
The Sheffield-based group have been invited to speak at The Diamond by the Climate Communications Hub on 21 March. Tickets are free.
"At Hope for the Future we have 5 years of first-hand experience in bridging the gap between constituent and MP", the group's Sarah Robinson told Now Then.
"Using communications research, counselling techniques and advice from MPs themselves, we will be sharing with the Climate Communications Hub how they can begin to impact their own MPs and, as a result, the landscape of climate policy."
Although by the end of our ten minute meeting [the MP] wasn't an all-out climate campaigner, we had moved him along in his thinking
Hope for the Future will also speak about how the threat posed by climate change can be communicated in daily life.
Robinson said: "As the aim is to help people break the silence around climate change in their daily lives, we'll also explore how our techniques can be applied to communicating about the issue with friends, family and colleagues."
I asked how the group approaches MPs who are skeptical about the need for action.
"Just last week we supported a constituent to meet with Steve Baker MP, who was very quick to say that he would never be an ally to the climate movement," said Robinson. "Climate change is such a multi-faceted issue that there will be something your MP is interested in that is related to climate change."
"Baker is a former engineer and he couldn't deny the logic of providing good infrastructure for electric vehicles," she continued.
"Although by the end of our ten minute meeting [the MP] wasn't an all-out climate campaigner, we had moved him along in his thinking, helping him see that action to reduce emissions can have a wealth of benefits in other areas of our lives."
Sam Gregory
Free tickets for 'Hope for the Future' are available through Eventbrite.
