Laurie Michaelis

 Some of the ideas in this article are developed in more depth in a paper about ‘Agency in Climate Psychology’, written for Climate Psychology Alliance. You can access it here or e-mail me for a copy.

If climate negotiators are true to form, they will pull an all-nighter on Friday 12 November, the last day of COP26. We have a slightly tamer plan, for a Friday with Friends that evening on climate action among Oxford Friends.

Back in June, Local Meeting discussed writing to our MPs about the climate crisis. I suggested finding out what Oxford Friends are doing, as a foundation for our message, so of course I was given the task. Sixteen of you responded to my request on the General Circulation e-mail list. Friends mentioned a wide variety of actions, including being part of Extinction Rebellion, campaigns on the Climate the Ecological Emergency Bill, fossil fuel divestment, Stop Ecocide and others. One Friend is writing a novel addressing climate change. The most frequently listed actions related to lifestyle. Thirteen Friends said they had stopped flying. Many have stopped driving, become vegetarian or vegan, or made efforts to reduce home energy use and support renewable energy supplies.

Conversations about climate action often get polarised – should we prioritise lifestyle change or policy campaigns? Is food more important, or transport, or population? Why should sheep farmers or coal miners lose their livelihoods? There is a simplifying tendency that wants to know who is right and who is to blame for the problem. Perhaps if we could agree on that, we would have a clear path to solving it. In nearly forty years of climate-related work, I’ve come across many people with a religious zeal for their particular fix, based on their preferred theory of change.

The climate crisis, its causes and the potential human responses are part of multiple complex and deeply interconnected systems. They include markets and economies, law and justice, technology, politics, social structures, cultures, human psychology and behaviour. Processes in different systems reinforce themselves and each other, contributing to trends such as growing material extraction, processing and consumption.

We need the passion and energy of true believers, but because of this complexity, simple solutions tend to lead to disappointment. In 2014 I interviewed Quakers around the world about their experience of climate action. I asked what sustains them and others in a life of witness. One Friend who teaches graduate programmes on leadership and change spoke about the way focusing on outcomes can lead to burnout. Others mentioned the importance of buddies, community, and a spiritual life. If we can act because it feels right rather than to produce a result, and if we can find joy, humour and friendship in our actions, we are more likely to sustain them.

I feel I’m part of an ecosystem of climate action. My own lifestyle choices matter to me, partly as a way of learning what is involved in “net zero” living. It’s also important for me to work with others in my community, and be part of networks and movements supporting ecovillages, permaculture, and the spiritual and healing aspects of living into the climate and ecological crises. I try to discern what action is right for me, and how that is changing. I’m not much good at fun but I get lots of quiet time, fresh fruit and veg, chocolate, exercise, sleep, and chats with friends. I respect and value others who bring different gifts and energies, who have different needs or work within different constraints.

People engaging with the climate crisis may take different approaches at different times. They may move through phases of reflection, lifestyle change, activism, therapy, relationship building, play… or they may combine these as parts of an engaged life. Our Friday with Friends on 12 November will be an opportunity to share how we are finding our way.

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Forty-Three Newsletter • Number 511 • November 2021
Oxford Friends Meeting
43 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LW

newsletter@oxfordquakers.org