Foundation
Beyond quick fixes
Climate Engagement, entanglement and a just transition
Why?
- Entanglement – recognising the messy, interconnected nature of climate issues
- Just Transition – ensuring the shift to a low-carbon future is fair and inclusive
Entanglement
What is entanglement?
The word entanglement reflects the idea that our lives are inseparably connected with the environment and with each other—even before we consciously think about it. Climate issues don’t exist in isolation. Neither do people.
Entanglement means recognising:
- Climate change is bound up with social histories, economic systems, and power structures
- We are already part of the problem and part of the solution
- Our daily lives—from the buildings we live in to the food we eat—depend on climate systems
Considering entanglement means recognising that we are always part of the problems we’re trying to solve—in our communities and our environments—and that these problems are deeply connected to one another.
It’s not just about relationships between people, but also our relationships with the environment we live in, and the many everyday ways we’re connected to it. We often think of nature connection as something that happens when we go into nature, but in reality, we’re always already entangled.
From the geological materials our homes are built with, to the earth systems and engineering that bring water to our taps, to the climate-sensitive microbes in the soil that help grow our food—we are in constant relationship with the environment and its changing climate, every single day.
Why entanglement is important in public engagement on climate
When we ignore complexity, we risk designing climate solutions that don’t work—or worse, that deepen mistrust and exclusion. But when we make space for entanglement, we open up possibilities for more relevant, acceptable, and lasting outcomes.
This can feel overwhelming at first. But recognising the idea of entanglement can actually help us navigate complexity more effectively. It reminds us that climate and environmental issues are never just technical—they’re also social, economic, and historical.
We are not separate from these systems—we’re part of them. That’s why meaningful engagement must connect with the everyday realities people live within. When you work with entanglement in mind, you’re more likely to design policies and actions that people find relevant, fair, and worth supporting.
It’s a shift—from doing things to people, to working with them.
How to consider entanglements in your climate engagement
Here are practical ways to bring this thinking into your engagement work:
Slowing down and listening: Rather than rushing to impose solutions, make time to engage with the complexity of local concerns, histories, and emotions around climate related decisions. We know this can feel at odds with the need to deliver on tight budgets so consider what issues are most complex and where there are unknown entanglements that are creating barriers to finding ways forward. Make time to specifically slow down and listen to these issues.
Acknowledge that solutions don’t exist in isolation: Climate action isn’t just about reducing emissions; it’s shaped by economics, colonial histories, biodiversity loss, and community stories. The actions that are taken won’t be separate from these things either.
Staying with the complexity – don’t turn away from it: Acknowledge that climate work is messy and ongoing. It requires collaboration, care, and openness to unexpected solutions rather than quick fixes.
Look for collaboration in unlikely places – Climate ideas and actions might emerge when different people come together in new ways. In facilitated engagement diverse groups of people often naturally make space for complexity as differences are drawn out and discussed.
Embracing uncertainty and adaptability – Rather than seeking total control, you can work with communities in a way that allows for experimentation, learning, and unexpected connections.
Embrace creativity – Making space for creative practices can support people to work through complexity. Having creative engagement activities alongside discussion or text based engagement can support people to think about issues in new ways. For example we found people were more able to generate ideas for a service they use when they have time to create a collage or representation of that alongside conversation.
Pause and Think Section
- Are you allowing time in your engagement process for people to share how climate issues intersect with their real lives?
- Where might slowing down and listening help you uncover hidden barriers or unexpected connections?
- What assumptions are you making about the “problem” and the “solution”? Could the people most affected define these differently?
Just Transition
What does this mean?
A just transition ensures that the shift to a low-carbon future is fair and inclusive, protecting workers, communities, and those most affected by change. It’s about recognising that the people most affected by climate change and environmental decline often have the least power to shape the solutions.
As we respond to climate and environmental challenges, we face choices:
- We can design policies that sustain or worsen existing inequalities, continuing to place the greatest burden on the most marginalised.
- Or we can create solutions that not only achieve net zero but also tackle existing social inequalities.
A just transition means choosing the second path—ensuring that climate action benefits everyone, rather than deepening marginalisation and harm.
Why a just transition is important in public engagement on climate
Climate policies will only succeed if people see them as fair, inclusive, and relevant to their lives. If people feel climate action threatens their livelihoods or values, they are less likely to support or participate in it.
Many lower-income and marginalised groups already bear the brunt of both climate change and economic shifts, such as job losses in high-carbon industries. The transition in the UK from coal mining during the 1980s and subsequent negative impact on individuals and communities is an example of what can happen without a just transition, with communities (often already marginalised) being further disadvantaged.
Engaging the public in meaningful ways – by listening to concerns, co-creating solutions, and investing in green jobs and local economies – ensures that no one is left behind in the shift to a low-carbon future.
At its core, a just transition is about fairness and shared responsibility. It recognizes that climate action is not just about cutting emissions—it’s about shaping a future that works for people as well as the planet. Public engagement is key to making this transition not only possible, but desirable and just.
Climate policies and actions must work with people, not just be done to them.
How to consider a just transition in your climate engagement
Start with power and impact – Who in your community is most affected by the issue? Who holds decision-making power? Build this analysis into your engagement design.
Get the right people in the room – After identifying those with the most at stake but with the least power, ensure your recruitment and support process enables their full participation.
Raise equity questions explicitly – People don’t always make the link between climate policy and fairness on their own. Frame engagement questions in a way that highlights justice, inclusion, and redistribution. Have a look at our guidance on setting the overarching remit and question for your engagement and consider how you can frame your remit to support a just transition.
Pause and Think Section
- Who in your community will benefit most from your climate plans? Who risks being left out or harmed?
- Are you involving people who typically have less access to decision-making? How are you removing barriers to their participation?
- Does your engagement question include equity or justice? What would happen if you asked, “What’s fair?” as well as, “What works?”
Entanglement and just transition are not separable!
Councils and organisations taking action on climate don’t just work on climate—they shape housing, transport, education, health, and public services. These areas are deeply interconnected, both in policy and in people’s everyday lives.
The concept of entanglement reminds us that no issue stands alone. Climate action will always overlap with social, economic, and historical factors.
A just transition means making sure this shift to a low-carbon future is fair—especially for those most affected by change. It’s not just about reaching climate targets, but about improving lives and reducing inequality along the way.
Although departments and organisations may work separately, people experience these issues together. By coordinating engagement across different service areas—and pooling time, knowledge and resources—you could find you have the resources to design climate action that reflects the real complexity of people’s lives, and build solutions that are fair, joined-up, and more likely to succeed.
This collaboration has the potential to create better, real-world solutions that recognise and address the complexity of the challenges at hand.