Almost all of us want to see action on the climate. Here’s why it matters

Who cares about the climate? More people than you might think. As we reported this week, a series of studies have found that between 80 and 89% of the world’s population want to see strong action being taken by their governments to tackle the climate crisis.

But listen to most mainstream politicians and much of the world’s media, and you may be forgiven for thinking that you’re in a shrinking minority.

That’s why this week we’ve launched a year-long collaborative project exploring how we can break this “spiral of silence” and remind ourselves and those in power that there is a huge majority who want a greener and fairer world.

The 89% project is a partnership between the Guardian, the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now, Agence France-Presse and dozens of other newsrooms across the world. We want to explore the myths, misconceptions and misinformation that lead people to underestimate support for climate action, and why governments aren’t doing what polling shows their voters want – even after suffering extreme weather events. We also want to highlight the hopeful ideas that connect and amplify the people, communities and organisations that are acting and pushing for the climate.

We kicked off with an analysis by our environment editor, Damian Carrington, looking into how these studies prove the depths of people’s desire for action and how dispelling the myth that most people don’t care could spark a social tipping point, supercharging climate action. Danielle Renwick asked why the desire for climate action is markedly lower in the US: the experts she spoke to pointed to high levels of partisanship, US-originated climate disinformation campaigns and the close relationship between fossil fuel industries and elected officials.

We’re also aware that the climate crisis has been routinely pushed to the back of the policy debate in big elections. That’s been the case in the UK, US and Germany in the past 12 months, and the current election campaigns in Canada and Australia have been no different. In the UK, where there are local elections next week, the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, is trying to inject the environment into the debate, but by turning net zero into a Brexit-like wedge issue. As columnist Rafael Behr wrote, by siding with the 89%, Keir Starmer can nip this nascent culture war in the bud by providing the green and just transition that this project shows most voters want. The media can play a role too, by explaining the facts behind issues such as why the UK’s electricity costs are so high, rather than peddling falsehoods.

What we, and the others in the 89% project, hope it can do is inject some hope and energy into the action we’re already taking, and inspire others to do more. It is easy to be disheartened by constant warnings about our degrading climate and natural world, but knowing that we’re not alone is surely critical. This project has already turned heads at the UN and been praised by scientists. We hope it inspires our readers, too. As one scientist said to Damian: one of the most powerful things you can do is tell people you’re part of the 89%.

The week’s biggest news was of course the death of Pope Francis, revered by Catholics and many others across the globe. Angela Giuffrida was in Vatican City to witness as tens of thousands paid their respects. Harriet Sherwood looked ahead to the conclave, the secretive process for choosing a new pope, and at which cardinals might be in the frame to take over. Harriet also looked at how the child sexual abuse scandal has cast a long shadow over Francis’s papacy. Catherine Pepinster offered a magisterial assessment of his achievements and of the church he leaves behind, while Nathalie Tocci highlighted how keenly his loss will be felt in the global south. Julian Coman described Francis as an outsider with a reforming mission, but warned it was a mistake to view his papacy as liberal, and Peter Stanford produced this thoughtful obituary.

We looked in depth at Donald Trump’s latest plan to impose a peace agreement on Ukraine as the US president accused Volodymyr Zelenskyy of jeopardising the deal. Dan Sabbagh and Pjotr Sauer followed the story through the week, from tensions over Crimea to the killing of a senior Russian general in Moscow on Friday. Diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour asked if Trump envoy Steve Witkoff has the nous to pull off the deal. From Ukraine, Luke Harding covered one of the most devastating Russian attacks for months, which killed at least 12 people in Kyiv.

Senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins, travelled to Shenzhen to explore how “embodied AI” is reshaping daily life in China, from fast-food delivery drones to humanoid robots that can run. In her fantastic piece, Amy reported that the country’s leaders see artificial intelligence as key to everything from upgrading military strength to solving problems created by a shrinking workforce.

After 26 civilians were killed by a little-known militant group in Kashmir, Aakash Hassan in Delhi and Peter Beaumont in London looked at how the attack has sparked fears of conflict between India and Pakistan, while Penelope MacRae, also in Delhi, analysed what the killings mean for the fraught relationship between the two nations.

This week I’m working from our US offices in New York and Washington DC as our superb US team reports on, and lives under, the shocking reality of the Trump administration. From teachers fleeing school censorship to doctors working in the face of abortion bans, Ed Pilkington investigated the rise in Americans moving between states to escape hostile political and environmental forces, which he described as a “new generation of America’s internal refugees”. Ed also discussed Harvard’s battle with the Trump administration in depth on Today in Focus.Moira Donegan was electrifying on America’s pro-natalism movement and Anna Silman’s feature on the anti-feminist world of the burgeoning American “womanosphere” was an incisive and troubling read.

British cancer patients have been denied life-saving drugs due to Brexit, according to a leaked report uncovered by our health editor, Andrew Gregory. And Jessica Elgot and Lisa O’Carroll got hold of a letter signed by 70 UK Labour MPs and peers putting pressure on the government to establish deeper ties with the EU as part of a reset of its relationship with the UK.

Ahead of the Australian election, Rafqa Touma spoke to young people about the social media commentators they are turning to for election news, and asked the creators themselves what’s behind their popularity for the Full Story podcast. Daisy Dumas spoke to Australian Muslim candidates who are aiming to exert new political power. Dan Jervis-Bardy examined whether the momentum behind a wave of inner-city independents elected in 2022 – the half green, half blue “teals” – is beginning to fade.

Sarah Martin has been exploring the life, times and ambitions of Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, in the excellent Gina podcast series. This week she looked closely at the bitter billion-dollar feud tearing apart the family of the mining magnate, including an interview with her son.

In a moving and sensitive piece looking at the hard realities of a global green transition, Jonathan Watts worked on a collaborative investigation that went deep into the Amazon rainforest and spoke to the ranchers on the frontline about their depression and despair as they try to keep pace with the changes demanded by the world’s largest meat company.

Rutger Bregman made a convincing case for why high-performing people in “pointless” jobs should become “morally ambitious” and change the world instead. Harry Shukman recounted what it was like to go undercover and befriend a group of men with far-right sympathies and deep mistrust of journalists in a fascinating long read. And I was intrigued to read the tragic story of Albert Einstein’s cousin, Robert.

I enjoyed Thor Pedersen’s feature on travelling to every country in the world without flying, and Phil Mongredien on the discovery that you’re never too old to go Interrailing around Europe; Marina Lopes’s top parenting lessons from around the world including the Dutch fondness for ditching their kids in the woods; and Alex Clark’s fascinating exclusive about Joan Didion’s newly released therapy diaries detailing the writer’s struggle with depression.

Finally, this week we revealed the winners of our Emerging Voices competition and published their excellent opinion articles. April O’Neill, winner of the 19-25 age category, explored the little-discussed vulnerability of older people to online grooming by the right and Ibraheem Mockbel, winner of the 16-18 age category, wrote about the desperate need for more youth services, and more hope, in his home city of Birmingham.

One more thing …I’ve been sniggering all week at Larry David’s hilarious piece imagining having dinner with Adolf Hitler in the spring of 1939, a satirical rebuke to those doing something similar with Donald Trump today (such as comedian Bill Maher, who really didn’t appreciate the joke). I keep re-reading it and finding new favourite lines. “There are still feelings. That really resonated with me.” Lethal.

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