Positive stories crucial for the energy transition

As well as brave leaders we need brave communicators to put out positive and truthful stories that can and will make a difference.

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As a twelve-year-old I used to walk and stand on the Gorner Glacier in Switzerland and look into its dark blue caves. Once it was a river of ice, now it is a grey gritty area. Every year the glacier loses 30 meters of ice as the changing climate continues to do its work. Ho stop, NO, this isn’t another story about melting ice. I think we can all agree we don’t need these examples anymore as most people know that the climate is warming and, as humans, we all play a role in that. The good news is that we do have the technologies: wind, solar, hydrogen and CCS to capture the CO₂ from fossil fuels to combat and reduce the impact of global warming.

Still, the transition to a clean energy future is far too slow. In the most likely scenario, according to DNV’s recent Energy Transition Outlook we will end up with a temperature increase of 2.3 degrees by the end of the century. I think you will agree, that this is a black scenario. So, we know what the issue is, we have the technologies at hand, but still the biggest and most important change process ever, is too slow. One of the causes that doesn’t get a lot of attention, is resistance to this change in society and, as a consequence, slow action from politicians. So how do we turn resistance into action?

First, we need brave leaders in industry, government and academia who are visionary and who dare to take big steps. Second, we need success stories instead of doom stories and third, ensure these positive stories reach the target audiences. Hence my plea today to journalists and communication professionals to step up and communicate.

Brave leaders

Leaders play an important role in change processes, setting an example by having and implementing their vision. This also counts for the energy transition. Leaders must show that they are open for change and able to make it happen.

A great example is Dr. Andrew Forrest, Chairman of the Board of Fortescue, one of the biggest ore mining companies in the world with 15,000 employees. After a study marine ecology, Dr. Forrest saw the direct impact of climate change on marine life and on human life. He decided Fortescue should become leading in the heavy industry by setting an ambition for Fortescue to be CO₂ neutral by 2030. And he keeps his promises. He works on turning the large fleet of trucks needed for ore transport from fossil fueled to green hydrogen and electricity, based on wind and solar energy. He has also established a new organisation Fortescue Future Energies (FFI), fully focussed on the development, financing and operations of CO₂ free energy sources. His ambition is bold: he would like the new Fortescue organization to be as large as the current oil majors like Shell and BP. If you want to hear more about the bold plans of FFI, listen to DNV’s Talks Energy Podcast where Julie Shuttleworth, CEO of FFI, explains the role of Dr. Andrew Forrest for the cultural change in Fortescue.

Positive stories

Over the years I discovered that sharing doom stories on climate change does not help to accelerate the transition. Behavioral scientists and psychologists indicate that positive stories are far more effective. The writers of the book ‘A brief history of a perfect future’ plea for painting a positive future that inspires and helps people wanting to change. Professor in Environmental Psychology Linda Steg, explains in her speech that we should emphasize the human factor in sustainability. Most people care about the environment and want to contribute in a positive way. According to the professor, we need to emphasize what is possible and what can be done now, for example by establishing positive demonstration projects.

A nice example of a success story is Denmark. Denmark leads the Environment Performance Index and has established one of the most successful green economies in the world. Denmark already included wind energy in its energy plans in 1976. And it didn’t just end with plans. Today, more than 45 years later 40% of Denmark’s electricity comes from wind, and globally the country is world leader in wind turbines (Vestas) and wind farm development (Ørsted). Ørsted, formerly DONG, the Danish Oil Company, reinvented itself with its transformation from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Denmark remains frontrunner with its current plans for an energy island that will provide energy to 10 million European households.

In this blog from Texas Disposal Systems you see how the EPI index and Denmark are used in an inspiring way as an example of sustainability and eco-change.

Journalists and communicators: Step up!

Leaders and their success stories are important for the acceleration of the energy transition. But, we as communication professionals need to do more. The stories need to be written in an appealing way, be visually attractive and be distributed on the right platforms. There are some really good examples out there. Dutch journalist Ralf Bodelier as The Curious Cosmopolitan has a special column in the Dutch Financial Newspaper, Anderzijds (the other side) where he talks about the positive sides of change in the world. The BBC with its new video series Humanising Energy shows the human side of the energy transition, very insightful and beautifully produced.

Also ‘news hooks’ that help media and journalists tell their stories, work well to get attention for the energy transition and sustainability. Think of COP26 and rankings like the Environment Performance Index from Yale University. Creating momentum helps to keep the topics on the agenda. Also, sharing stories on social media and special digital platforms helps.

As global responsible for marketing, communications and public affairs for Energy Systems at DNV with a team of 40 professionals, we try to continuously develop and share positive stories as inspiration for others. We share DNV’s expert reports like the Energy Transition Outlook and the Pathway to Net Zero with as many stakeholders as we can. We are very active on LinkedIn, Twitter and WeChat. On our special Transition Faster hub and our Podcast Talks Energy we share interesting stories from thought leaders in the energy sector.

So, I call upon journalists, communication professionals and marketeers: find and write success stories, focus on brave leaders, organizations and projects and ensure your story is easy to read, based on facts and visually attractive. Share via the right channels or create your own channel or special moment.

As well as brave leaders we need brave communicators to put out positive and truthful stories that can and will make a difference.