Energy & Climate
A fight for the future
Extreme Hangout founder Amber Nuttall shares reasons for hope as we approach COP29.
11 November 2024
This article first appeared in our World Environment Day 2025 issue of My Green Pod Magazine. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
As London Climate Action Week (LCAW) approaches, the urgency to address the climate crisis feels palpable for those who are deeply embedded in the space.
Events are being meticulously planned, sponsors confirmed and expert speakers lined up.
For those working in the climate sector, this is a busy, critical week – but for the average citizen the event may pass unnoticed.
This raises a fundamental issue: climate action weeks like this are not shifting the dial.
LCAW, like many similar gatherings, often caters to insiders, policy professionals, ESG consultants, scientists and activists who have been involved with the movement for years.
These are the same voices speaking to the same audiences.
The result is a well-meaning echo chamber; it lacks the diversity of lived experience, the broader human voice that must be central to any meaningful transformation.
This November, COP30 in Brazil will mark 30 years of climate negotiations.
Over those decades, warnings from scientists have grown louder and many predictions have begun to materialise sooner than expected.
Yet governments delay, corporations make pledges without substance and systemic change remains slow.
Meanwhile, ordinary people are grappling with cost-of-living pressures. Conversations about emissions and climate targets feel distant when you are choosing between groceries and gas.
If climate efforts do not meet people where they are, they will fail to bring them along. A more inclusive, human-first approach is urgently needed.
After five years of attending climate summits, rallies, conferences and festivals, one truth stands out to me: we have a tendency to underestimate the power of listening.
Listening reveals overlooked truths; it challenges our assumptions and encourages us to grow. That evolution is the revolution that we need right now.
Where do we focus? We must put people first and build systems that work for all.
This means investing in a future where success is defined not by extraction but by regeneration, and moving beyond blame towards bold, creative action.
We must walk the talk, together.
During last year’s LCAW the message at the Extreme Hangout was clear: we need 8 billion imperfect environmentalists. That still holds true.
You do not need to be perfect. You can eat meat. You can fly. You can still be part of the solution. What matters is movement, not perfection.
This revolution needs all of us; it begins with the evolution of language, of leadership, of systems and of our own mindsets.
LCAW can be more than a meeting of experts: it can be a catalyst for change that includes everyone. Let’s evolve, together.
Here are nine areas where transformation is already within reach.
1. Storytelling
Climate speakers must elevate their game; the message is too important to deliver poorly. It must be relatable, emotional and clear.
Those on stage should not be the usual suspects; we should elevate new voices, young people, Indigenous leaders, women from the Global South.
Speak at conferences outside the climate sphere to expand the audience. And if you’ve had your say, help others have theirs.
2. Language
The climate lexicon is alienating. Terms like ‘ESG’, ‘1.5°C’ and ‘decarbonisation’ confuse and distance people.
Instead, we must speak in a language that connects – clear, vivid and accessible. Use music, humour and visual storytelling to reach people emotionally, not just intellectually.
3. Pollution
Pollution is tangible and widely understood. The ‘polluter pays’ principle is powerful and fair; it’s a message people connect with and a concept that cuts through the complexity. Use it.
4. Oceans
Ocean with David Attenborough delivers a clarion call – perhaps his final message – that is simple and profound: the ocean is our most vital climate ally.
Marine ecosystems can recover and protecting them is one of the most effective ways to combat climate change. This must become a central pillar of climate action.
5. Food & farming
Regenerative agriculture offers a systemic solution.
We must redirect subsidies from fossil fuels and industrial fishing to support farmers who protect the land.
Promoting biodynamic techniques, local food systems and new technologies will support circular agriculture.
Healthy soils lead to healthy food, which leads to healthier people.
6. Human & planetary health
These are inseparable. Pollution degrades ecosystems and human bodies alike. A broken food system fuels chronic illness and enriches a few.
Climate conversations must centre on real food, clean water, clean air and mental wellbeing. This is about survival and quality of life.
7. Nature & wildlife
Nature is not optional. It is life. Biodiversity builds resilience and nature provides healing.
We must protect it because our lives depend on it.
8. Education
The next generation must be equipped to lead, and we must model the change we talk about.
Education should be experiential, joyful and hopeful. As Martin Luther King Jr said, people follow a dream, not a nightmare.
9. Technology
We must harness the potential of clean tech, AI and artificial labour (robotics) to accelerate solutions.
AI can analyse complex systems and augmented learning can empower citizens with the knowledge and tools they need to participate in solutions.
But we must ensure these tools are used ethically, inclusively and transparently; technology should serve people and planet, not profit alone.
A CALL TO EVERY ROLE IN SOCIETY
To the billionaire: pay your taxes, yes – but also invest in the future.
To the business leader: redefine success with courage and imagination.
To the homemaker: you are raising the future and where you spend your money matters. A lot.
To the teacher: plant seeds of hope and wisdom. Include the vital tools of joy and humour.
To the children: we hear you and we need you.
To the poor: you are not forgotten. Climate justice is social justice.
Extreme Hangout founder Amber Nuttall shares reasons for hope as we approach COP29.
Get set for Europe’s largest city-wide climate festival.
Dr Scilla Elworthy looks at why women understand change, and the role they could play in the transition to a sustainable future.
