Climate Corner: How to keep conversations from getting heated

Imagine you’re talking with friends or family, and a climate-related topic comes up.

Armed with good intentions, you share your favourite facts, or the latest thing you’ve done to try to help minimise your impact, whether it’s going to a protest or eating less red meat.

All of a sudden you’re embroiled in an argument with someone you care about. You walk away feeling terrible – and the next time the subject comes up, you have a sinking feeling in your stomach.

Or maybe you just stop talking about it altogether.

We’ve all been there. The climate – and what, if anything, we should do about it – has been a charged subject for decades.

But instead of setting ourselves the next-to-impossible task of avoiding these conversations, what if, instead, we tried to remove some of the heat?

Our climate and energy expert, Ty Christopher, shared his top tips.

“Before you even begin, get rid of the win-lose mindset,” he said.

“A conversation is a chance to explore new ideas and find new things to think about.

“Start by looking for common ground. Most people with a multi-generational family care about the world our children and grandchildren live in.

“We have a common humanity; by and large most people have a concern for the climate and want to do something about it.

“If we recognise that in each other, we can build a safe, calm, rational conversation.”

Ty said it was important to keep in mind that most people wouldn’t change their minds as the result of a single conversation, so take the pressure off.

Try to learn something new about the person you’re talking with.

It’s also important to acknowledge our own shortcomings.

“All human beings are brilliant at cognitive dissonance,” Ty said.

“All of us do all sorts of things that conflict with our beliefs.

“I’m all for decarbonisation, my house runs on solar, but I rode my Harley-Davidson into work today. Keep the conversation about what we can do realistic, and recognise that’s going to look different for different people.

“We’re a very messy species, but most of us will try to do the right thing – once we’ve explored all the other alternatives.”

Founding director of Illawarra not-for-profit Hi Neighbour, Yael Stone, is a master of navigating climate conversations.

Hi Neighbour supports the energy transition away from fossil fuels by funding solar projects to finance training scholarships for locals to move into low-carbon jobs.

Her guiding principle is to focus on the positive.

“We talk about employment opportunities that are there for clean energy and how to make sure people who have built our community are included in the energy transformation,” she said.

“It’s important to be able to validate reasonable concerns and talk about the measures we have to address those, but there is a lot to be positive about.

“We want to make sure our region continues to be a vibrant industrial centre, that the folks who have characterised that work and have all that amazing knowledge get to stay here, keep jobs and keep the character of this place.

“We’re working to support local people and I don’t think there’s any real argument against that.”

Yael seconded Ty’s recommendation that it’s more important to listen and understand than try to persuade.

She also said it was worth recognising which conversations to walk away from.

“There is a great dynamic conversation to be had, and it’s really good when people are up for it,” she said.

“When someone becomes aggressive, dismissive or insulting, I try to walk away.”

If you’re interested in a little less conversation and a little more action, Hi Neighbour is taking applications for its latest round of scholarships.

This round is for women and gender-diverse people who are over 18, live locally and want to move into the clean-energy space.

To apply, head to www.hineighbour.com.au.