Inspiring Action Through Emotional Storytelling: Key Takeaways from BBC Climate Creative 2024

As the climate crisis becomes more urgent by the day, finding the right way to communicate it has never been more important. During the BBC Climate Creative 2024 conference, a group of experts shared some brilliant insights on how to drive action through positive, emotionally-driven storytelling. The panel, one of the many interesting ones scheduled on the day, was hosted by Gaby Hornsby , TV Lead for Sustainability at the BBC . One point that particularly stood out—although it aligns with behavioural patterns we’ve seen in many contexts, including my own experience at Together TV — is the surprisingly low link between what people know and what they actually do when it comes to climate change.

According to the panel, research shows that only about 2-4% of people’s behaviour is driven by what they know. In other words, just throwing facts and statistics at people about the climate crisis isn’t enough to get them to change. Jodi Bond from the Local Storytelling Exchange summed it up perfectly: “2 to 4% comes from knowledge when it comes to impacting our behaviour. Actually, we really need something relatable. We need something that head over heart, that speaks to the heart.”

This really highlights the importance of tapping into emotions if we want to inspire climate action. As the panelists pointed out, stories that connect with people on a deep, emotional level are far more likely to get people motivated than cold, rational arguments.

Gareth Jenkins from EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services talked about how their immersive Four Futures experience is all about shifting people from just knowing about climate change to actually feeling it. By taking people 30 years into the future and showing them the human impact of different climate scenarios, the experience is designed to spark a real change in how people see the world.

“Very often we go for point solutions to problems, but actually, what happens if the problem is the whole system?” Jenkins asked. “How do we approach that? How do we get the right people around the table to solve what is, ultimately, I think, the most complex problem that we’ve ever faced?”

Storytelling’s ability to spark this kind of big-picture change was a recurring theme in the discussion. Ren James, a writer and story consultant, shared how she worked on the "Future Hopes" anthology, a collection of short stories by children’s authors about practical climate solutions.

“I wanted to take the simple solutions we already know we need—like changing the way we plant fields or having more free-roaming livestock—and put them into fiction so that kids growing up could see how achievable it all is, without feeling guilty about what they’re doing in their own lives” she explained. “I wanted them to feel hopeful and engaged with the topic”.

This idea of making solutions relatable through stories really hit home. As Sarah Stack, Commissioning Editor Channel 4 pointed out, “It’s really about showcasing those solutions within stories that aren’t always just about the solution itself, you know?”

The panel also highlighted the importance of including diverse voices in climate storytelling. Jodi Bond shared an example of how one of their local storytellers helped shift public opinion on a geothermal development in Cornwall by finding a farmer who was really in favour of it and having him write a heartfelt piece for the local media. That piece ended up having a huge impact on how the planning application was received.

Similarly, Helen Nightingale, Head of Factual and Fact Entertainment UKTV talked about how they’re weaving sustainability messages into all their programming—not just shows about the environment. “We’re getting every single programme we commission to give a message about sustainability. And this year, we’ve really embraced nature.”

This kind of holistic approach to storytelling fits well with the panel’s focus on systemic change. As Gareth Jenkins put it, the climate crisis is “the most complex problem we’ve ever faced” and solving it will require diverse perspectives, collaboration, and a fundamental shift in how we all think.

The panel’s insights also highlighted the challenge of creating positive, solution-focused climate stories—but the key takeaway? We can do it. And we must.