Presentation
This Note published by Parlons Climat and IDDRI examines the strategies adopted by environmental actors in France. It argues that we are entering a new phase, in which traditional minority-based strategies are reaching their limits and need to be complemented by a “majority strategy” : a shift towards approaches capable of engaging and sustaining broad-based support. The analysis proceeds in two steps. First, it seeks to understand this new dynamic; second, it outlines possible directions for the next phase of the environmental movement.
Extract
This Note identifies several avenues for building a “majority strategy” for the ecological transition :
- Embodiment, diversity and adaptation: diversify the figures who embody environmental action, recognize the range of approaches, and acknowledge that environmental action evolves and adapts as it reaches new groups;
- “Where there’s a way, there’s a will”: act on the environments and contexts in which people operate to make sustainable practices both possible and desirable, rather than relying solely on individual injunctions. Collective change must be made realistic and easy to adopt;
- Moving beyond single-issue politics: integrate environmental objectives into a broader project rooted in everyday concerns (employment, purchasing power, etc.). The aim is to reconfigure political divides based on living conditions rather than solely on environmental issues;
- Justice and agency: take account of social inequalities in the face of transition costs, extend forms of support beyond financial assistance, and strengthen people’s capacity to act by recognizing multiple pathways and forms of engagement.
