'Cartoons For Future': Artists React To The Climate Crisis

Deutsche Welle

Building on the "Fridays for Future" demonstrations, an exhibition in Dortmund shows 100 cartoons by international artists commenting on the climate emergency.

Mona Greta

Mona Greta: combination of da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Greta Thunberg' portrait. BerndPohlenz

One hundred drawings by international artists are featured in the exhibition "Cartoons for Future." Portraying the school strike for climate, plastic in the sea, mountains of garbage, traffic chaos, water pollution or the exploitation of developing countries by Western corporations, the illustrations offer insight into how the global emergency is viewed from different parts of the world.

Clean drinking water for everyone?

Rather than a bowl full of water, this girl tries to imbibe dried-out soil. Hungarian illustrator Gergely Bacsa calls attention to the water shortage in many countries. Silke Wünsch

Students in Dortmund have also been taking part in the "Fridays for Future" demonstrations for some time already. The mayor of the city was so impressed by the movement that he wanted to show his support for the schoolchildren's concerns. He quickly came up with the concept of an exhibition with curator and artist Bernd Pohlenz.
"A child who is now 4 years old will probably live to see the turn of the next century. And then you obviously start thinking about the future," said Pohlenz, who is also a father of six children and grandfather of four. As the administrator of the toonpool website, a collection of nearly 300,000 drawings by 2,500 artists from 120 countries, Pohlenz had access to this large pool of cartoons and selected exactly 100 of them for the exhibition.

Too late?

Greta Thunberg, the leading figure in the climate activism movement "Fridays for Future," is up to her neck in water in this drawing by Austrian Marian Kamensky: Her "school strike for the climate" (as it says in Swedish on the poster) kicked off too late.

The artists come from all continents, from countries as varied as the Netherlands, Australia, China and Burkina Faso — a reflection of the diversity of the drawings themselves. Thought-provoking, shrill, in color or black-and-white, some are outright funny or ironic while others play on dark humor.
The drawing for the exhibition's poster, the Mona Greta (top picture), was created by Pohlenz himself. He combined the famous painting by the humanist and naturalist Leonardo da Vinci with a portrait of the star teenage climate activist, Greta Thunberg.

The fruits of the country are out of reach

 'Poverty': A mother with two children looks at food on a shelf with the word 'Inflation.'" Said Michael

From frequent flying to the exploitation of developing countries
The drawings of the exhibition are organized according to different themes, such as global meat production, cheap flights, politics, human rights and exploitation. Some artists point blame at various countries, depicting for example Germany's love of cars, the ignorant climate policy of the current US administration or Western countries stealing resources from developing countries.
One drawing mocks the so-called environmental zones established in Germany: It shows a 20-meter stretch of road that's car-free — but surrounded by a detour route clogged with stinking cars.

What global warming?

What global warming?': Donald Trump driving underwater in a golf cart called Hoax. Bart van Leeuwen

Another piece reacts to a statement by Christian Lindner, leader of the pro-business Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), who said in reaction to the "Fridays for Future" demonstrations that climate protection is "a thing that should be left to professionals." The cartoon depicts the Reichstag building in Berlin under a merciless sun, surrounded by an arid landscape.
Beyond the 100 drawings, Pohlenz is planning on adding a screen to display more cartoons, since many artists found the idea so good that they wanted to contribute additional works.
The "Cartoons for Future" exhibition's program also includes cartoon workshops and an international drawing contest. The show runs until August 18 at the Dortmunder U Center for the Arts and Creativity.

Great view?

Tourism at any cost? The couple is taking a selfie in front of the sunset, but is apparently oblivious to the fact that they're standing on the mountain of trash. Tjeerd Royaards

The globe in despair

Many of the illustrations in the exhibition address the plastic garbage that has contaminated the world's oceans. Here, the Earth holds its face in its hands in a moment of desperation. Arcadio Esquivel

From one disaster to another

This illustration by Burkinabé artist Damien Glez reflects on the fate of thousands upon thousands of refugees and migrants: The supposed better life elsewhere has its owns risks.

Links

•  German political parties go green for EU 'climate election'
•  Constance becomes first German city to declare 'climate emergency'
•  Fridays for Future climate activist denounces RWE at shareholders' meeting
•  Greta Thunberg at London climate protest: 'We will never stop fighting'
•  Family memoir explores childhood of climate activist Greta Thunberg
•  Schwarzenegger teams up with activist Greta Thunberg at climate summit
• Cartoons for Future: An exhibition bangs the drum for the environment

Not Everyone Cares About Climate Change, But Reproach Won’t Change Their Minds

The Conversation - Chloe Lucas | Adam Corner | Aidan Davison | Peat Leith

It can be tempting to point fingers, but people with other priorities aren’t necessarily bad. AAP Image/Darren England

So much for Australia’s “climate election”. In the event, voters in last month’s federal poll didn’t put climate policy at the top of their wish list.
Contrary to opinion polls predicting a groundswell of support for Labor’s relatively progressive agenda on climate and economics, the election results revealed that Australians are more divided on climate change than we thought.
Voters for progressive climate policy were dismayed at the re-election of a prime minister who famously brought a lump of coal into Parliament. Perhaps understandably, one of the immediate responses among these progressive voters was to express anger at those who don’t share their concern.
But anger feeds a divisive politics that cannot help us to address our big collective challenges. By retreating into social media echo chambers where mockery and disrespect are the norm, we risk losing entirely the social cohesion and trust needed for democracy to work.
A whole-of-society discussion about our collective future is urgently needed. Now is the time to reinvent how we communicate about climate change, particularly with those who don’t see it as an urgent concern. Here’s how.

Addressing the ‘climate-unconcerned’
Contrary to the assumption that unconcern about climate change is evidence of selfishness or politically motivated denial, our research shows that people who resist climate concern are just as likely to be caring, ethical and socially minded as anyone else.
While there is a small minority of people who actively campaign against climate action, within society at large, those who are simply unconcerned about the climate crisis encompass a broad range of political views and levels of political engagement.
Far from being prejudiced, unreasonable, apathetic or ignorant, our studies in Australia and the UK show that many people who are unconcerned about the climate nevertheless care about issues including justice, the common good, and the health of ecosystems.
Belonging to a social group that doesn’t have its own narratives of climate concern is one of the most common reasons for unconcern. People who are unconcerned about climate change often see it as a “greenie” issue. If they identify themselves as opposed to green politics, they are unlikely to prioritise calls for climate action.
The rural/city divide also plays a key part in polarising narratives of climate action, as regional and outer-urban Australians, who are more likely to be economically dependent on natural resources, feel ignored and devalued by policies designed to appeal to capital city electorates. If we want to break down polarisation on climate change, we need to understand what matters to rural and conservative social groups.

Bridging the divide
Our findings suggest a set of principles for engaging with people who are unconcerned about climate change:

• Respect difference
  Don’t assume that being unconcerned about climate change is a moral failing. People have other active concerns that are no less valid.
• Listen
  Build relationships with people who have different life experiences to your own, by asking what is important to them. Appreciate that some people may find social change more threatening and immediate than climate change. Empathising with this feeling can foster understanding of the core concerns that underpin resistance to change, and potentially help identify ways to address these concerns.
• Value values
  Avoid arguments based on appeals to the authority of science, or the consensus of expert opinion. “Debating the science” is a red herring – people’s responses to claims about climate change are motivated primarily by what they value, and the narratives of their social group, not their acceptance of scientific fact. Focus on values you might have in common, rather than getting caught up in disputes over facts.
• Move beyond Left and Right
  Don’t conflate political ideology with stance on climate. Showing that climate is not a defining issue for social groups is really important to avoid polarisation. We need to work against the idea that action on climate is an exclusively left-wing or “greenie” agenda.

Adopting these principles can help to build a political culture around climate science and policy that responds to the different priorities of Australians, all of whom are simply seeking a safe and secure future. This approach recognises that no action on climate change is possible without public trust and involvement in democratic institutions.

What can we learn from the UK?
Australia’s parliamentary system and media environment have much in common with that of the UK. Although the UK has not been immune to political divisions on climate change, with levels of concern typically higher on the political left than on the right, Britain has maintained a bipartisan approach.
With the help of intiatives supporting a pluralistic approach to climate policy discussions, the UK Climate Change Act passed into law in 2008 with almost unanimous cross-party support.
Research in the UK has provided an evidence-based set of language and narratives to use when discussing climate change. This is focused on core socially conservative values such as maintaining the status quo (protecting it from a changing climate), avoiding waste (of household energy), and investing in secure (renewable) energy. There is also a push to reinvigorate democratic debate through citizens’ assemblies on climate change.
Now is the time for Australians to listen to each other, and develop a pluralistic approach to discussions on our shared future. The alternative is to sink deeper into partisan hostility and recrimination. And after a decade of division on climate policy, is that really the best way forward?

Links

• Australians disagree on how important climate change is: poll
• The UK has a national climate change act – why don't we?
• Social media echo chambers are hurting climate debate
• Not ‘getting on the bandwagon’: When climate change is a matter of unconcern
• People and issues outside our big cities are diverse, but these priorities stand out
• Facts won’t beat the climate deniers – using their tactics will
• Tools for a new climate conversation: A mixed-methods study of language for public engagement across the political spectrum
• Climate Outreach
• Changing Minds: How Do You Communicate With Climate Change Skeptics?
• Language Matters When The Earth Is In The Midst Of A Climate Crisis
• Graphic Design Could Be Holding Back Action On Climate Change – Here’s How 
• Can Comedy Help Communicate Climate Change?
• It’s Time For Climate Change Communicators To Listen To Social Science