How trust-based messaging shifts rural attitudes toward clean energy
Clean energy technologies are ready to be deployed at scale, but efforts to get new wind, solar, and other projects off the ground have often stalled due to lengthy and complex procedures that make it hard to get the necessary permits from state and local governments. As a result, fossil fuel consumption continues to rise, leading to more pollution and faster climate change, even when the public supports switching to cleaner power sources.
Our work
Shifting the Narrative.
New clean energy projects often need to be built on or near large expenses of open land – and in many cases, that means farmland. Our analysis found that people in rural, agricultural communities were likely to view “permitting reform” as code for taking away local control and allowing outside interests to dictate what happens to their land. At the same time, opponents have exploited a lack of trust in government and outside messengers to sow disinformation and portray new clean energy manufacturing projects as a threat to people’s way of life. Reframing the climate change narrative around local control helped counter misinformation and rebuild trust.
Insights:
We also met people where they live. In one Michigan community, Potential Energy conducted more than 200 doorstep conversations to learn more about attitudes about the clean energy transition.
It all comes down to trust in the messengers and the messages. To help build support for permitting reform, we deployed our analytical toolkit and found that if we flipped the narrative – instead emphasizing how reform would give local landowners control and allow them the choice to build clean energy projects – increased support by 37 percent. In other words: Trust farmers with their land. This messaging approach shows how trust-based climate narratives can strengthen clean energy support in rural communities.
Learn how to communicate about climate change in ways that build trust and relevance with broader audiences.
Program:
Based upon our findings, Potential Energy launched a multi-pronged campaign in Michigan to build local support for permitting reform and decrease opposition to a new manufacturing facility.
Power up local groups and coalitions.
We teamed up with a broad range of groups to spread the message of permitting reform empowering farmers, including organizations from the right, left, and business community, among others.
Move the segments that matter.
Starting from the insight that farmers held the key to beating back opposition arguments, our campaign targeted counties where leaders were most concerned about the impact of counternarratives.
Engage and embolden leaders.
The opposition is highly vocal, so we ensured that local leaders received calls from farmers and other supporters thanking them for their trust.
Meet people where they are.
To counter misinformation about local manufacturing projects, we engaged with people on the platforms where they get their news and information, generating positive digital stories and volunteer social posts seeded with the clean energy narratives that resonated most: like helping families build a future in their hometowns.
Results:
Michigan is now a national leader in permitting reform for clean energy projects. Potential Energy’s work created a transferable template for other states to boost permitting reform and clean energy manufacturing with significant and durable rural support.
The energy transition is a global challenge, but as we saw in Michigan, the actual fight to deploy the technologies that will transform the power grid is happening county by county, farm by farm, and home by home. By following the data, we uncovered a narrative that can have a significant impact on the debate, getting farmers and communities engaged and actively supportive.
Explore our climate messaging guide to see how these narrative strategies can be applied across different issues and audiences.
Creative.
To move local citizens to support local clean energy project approvals, we shifted the narrative by elevating local voices. We built public confidence, educated the public about the siting law, and thanked the public for their support of farmers.
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We can solve this together.
Potential Energy collaborates with partners across the climate sector and marketing industry to reach the most people with the most effective climate narratives.
