Webinar

People’s Emergency Briefing Screening and Q&A

The People’s Emergency Briefing brings together the scale of the climate and nature crisis and the solutions available in one accessible film. Mobilityways invited organisations to an exclusive virtual screening, followed by a live audience Q&A with sustainability experts, including Simon Oldridge, co-founder of the National Emergency Briefing. The film is designed to be watched collectively, helping people recognise how widespread concern about climate change is and build momentum for action. As this was an exclusive online screening, the film itself is not available as a recording, but the Q&A that followed is available to watch.

Watch the Q&A Session

Watch on YouTube

Featuring

Simon Oldridge Co-founder, National Emergency Briefing Paul Behrens

Paul Behrens British Academy Global Professor, University of Oxford Lt. Gen Richard Nugee

Lt. Gen Richard Nugee Chair, Uplift360 Marina Romanello

Marina Romanello Executive Director, Lancet Countdown Julie Furnell

Julie Furnell Managing Director, Mobilityways Mark Hand

Mark Hand Director, Mobilityways

We can’t have a resilient nation if people actually aren’t aware of the threats that face them
Simon Oldridge
Co-founder, National Emergency Briefing

The Role of Employers

Reaching people beyond the existing climate-conscious audience was a recurring theme of the discussion. Simon described workplaces and other communities as important routes for bringing people together, helping people recognise that concern about climate change is more widespread than they might assume.

For employers, that creates an opportunity to connect climate action with the decisions that shape everyday working life. Large organisations can examine their processes, supply networks and dependence on fossil fuels, while also considering the choices and infrastructure that influence how employees travel to work.

Sustainable commuting is one example of how organisational decisions can connect environmental goals with the everyday experiences of employees. The wider point is that employers can influence both the systems people operate within and the choices available to them.

Individual and Systemic Change

The discussion also considered the relationship between individual choices and wider systemic change. Paul Behrens argued that the two should not be treated as competing approaches:

The systemic change and the individual change come together, and they’re not separate.
Paul Behrens
British Academy Global Professor, University of Oxford

For employers, that means creating the conditions for individual action while making changes to the systems and processes that shape those choices.

Where Does Hope Come From?

Despite the scale of the challenge, the discussion was not solely about risk. Richard pointed to growing momentum among businesses and communities internationally, while Simon highlighted the motivation and hope generated by screenings of the film.

The tide is turning globally
Lt. Gen Richard Nugee
Chair, Uplift360

The challenge now is to turn that momentum into sustained action. That means recognising the concern that already exists, making it visible, and giving people clear ways to use their influence – individually, collectively and through the organisations they work for.

Visit the National Emergency Briefing website to find out how you can take action.

Questions Asked and Answered

QWhat would success look like in five years?

Paul argued that organisations and governments would need to be much further along with both emissions reduction and adaptation. Success would also mean reaching broad agreement about the direction of travel, even where disagreement remained over individual solutions.

QHow can we reach people outside the climate-conscious “bubble”?

Simon explained that physical screenings are designed to bring the issue to people who would not necessarily seek out climate content themselves. Workplaces, councils, schools, faith groups and professional communities can provide new routes into the conversation and help create a visible sense of shared concern.

QWhat can organisations do to support the emergency briefing?

The discussion pointed to different opportunities depending on the organisation, including reviewing processes, supply networks and dependence on fossil fuels. Simon also encouraged organisations to host screenings, while Paul emphasised the importance of recognising and amplifying the concern that already exists among employees.