At our Climate Curious Live in February 2026, we welcomed a climate original or so called “OG”, Laurence Tubiana, to help us explore the highs and lows of the climate movement and how to feel motivated to keep going. Laurence Tubiana is French economist, diplomat, and climate heavy-hitter who is regarded as one of the key architects of the Paris Agreement. She is currently the Director of the European Climate Foundation and has been working in the climate sector for over four decades – so she has a pretty unique perspective on the climate movement.
Why we’re in a low point of the climate movement
Laurence kicked off the conversation reminding us that the level of aggression from the opposition, especially the fossil fuel lobby, is incredibly strong at the moment. In her Climate Curious episode, Why climate action is a combat sport, Laurence explained she’s been in the climate movement for over 40 years and she’s “never seen” the levels of aggression from her opponents:
“They are there… for many years, many tactics, always the same, disinformation, lobbying etc., but the level of aggressivity is incredible.”
She also adds that Europe and the UK are captured between two negative forces. One is the very aggressive, far right forces from the United States and Trump’s administration, who are “very aggressive to the point that it’s now an ideology to kill renewable energy in Europe” and do not want to see a pro-environmental agenda in Europe. The second is Russia and its invasion of Ukraine and the wider impacts that’s had on energy security.
Part of this aggression, Laurence thinks, is from the wider shifts in perspectives and public understanding of the climate crisis. She says it’s entered the “moral and the legal consciousness, and that’s a revolution. It didn’t exist before.” She goes on to explain that research is showing that the majority of UK and European citizens care about the climate and unprecedented numbers of cases are going to the courts to force climate action from governments and corporations – “it’s the beginning of a revolution of consciousness… That’s why this oil and gas sector is so aggressive to the point that they don’t even pretend.”
How can the climate movement get through this low point?
That said, when we are facing such strong opposition from anti-climate voices, it can feel very difficult to fight back. We asked Laurence what do we do in the face of such opposition? Well it turns out that Laurence thinks we should “take back control” – specifically that we should turn the far right and fossil fuel playbook back on itself:
“We have an extraordinary window of opportunity where citizens… people in the street want something different. I was thinking about this famous slogan that the far right in the UK [use]: take back control. It was a genius idea. People have to feel that they can control their lives. So we should invent another slogan, but very close to it. We want to give citizens control back on their lives…That’s why the climate movement is so important today.”
Laurence wants the climate movement to speak to everyday people, stop being so technical and address the reality of people’s day to day lives. As she says, currently, “we ask people to dream about wind turbines or electric vehicles” and that doesn’t speak to the public’s imagination or values. In fact, it allows the anti-climate forces who do speak to people’s everyday life to step into the void and invade the cultural space as they see fit. When we do inspire everyday people, Laurence comments, it’s remarkable and you see a huge positive impact. For example, in Krakow in Poland, a citizens assembly came together to make a big change in their city:
“In Krakow, [there is] a lot of air pollution and this “low emission zone” is a very conflictual element. And then because they have a citizen assembly, they make a vote and they decided that we’ll ban very polluting cars. In France, it’s a drama, but in Poland, because its government decided… and they decided themselves and it’s very smooth. They… took back control.”
How do I manage the ups and downs of the climate movement?
Zooming into individual perspectives, Laurence shared tips for riding the ups and downs of the climate movement. Jokingly saying, “don’t drink and don’t take cocaine”, Laurence also said the main thing is resource ourselves:
“In the moment of the down cycle, our resource is our brain and it’s our first one. So read, look at the stories, look at what is happening in the world. Don’t try to close your eyes, even if it’s terrifying.
Because when you look, and you think, and you look at the long history – that’s why it’s so important to look backwards and not only forward – you see we have been through this so many times and there are always resources that will finally come back.”
Looking back is also really important for Laurence. In 2009, after the Copenhagen COP, she explained, everyone was feeling really depressed by the outcome and the lack of a global climate deal. However, a key lesson is “You don’t save the world in one element or two COPs… it’s a long process.” What helps this progress long term, Laurence says, is building the resilience and agency of citizens, so they know they can do things and act. If you’d like to think about building your own agency and resilience, make sure to check out these previous Climate Curious episodes:
– How to find your climate footing (even if you’re slipping) with Katherine Wilkinson
– How to ignite your Natural Connection with Joycelyn Longdon
– Why there’s much more to climate action than reducing your carbon footprint, with Kris De Meyer
– The beauty queen building climate resilience in Kenya, with Dorcas Naishora
We wanted to close on a final story from Laurence –one that inspired us to be as optimistic about the climate movement as the oil and gas industry is. During COP30, Laurence was speaking to the Minister of Climate from Germany, who recalled a conversation they had with the Minister of Energy from Saudi Arabia:
“We don’t want to block you… We want to kill the IMO’s (International Maritime Organization’s)… carbon tax in the maritime. We want to block any reference to transition away from fossil fuel in our conclusion at COP. We want to ignore all this, but we will not block you. We want just to delay.
And why? Because we know that at that moment, in Europe in particular, climate change is not high on the political agenda. So we can be very aggressive. Nobody will resist really. We can throw out a missing regulation in Europe if we are good enough…
If we come back and if we block you, we will have enemies. Next time we know that climate change will be very high on your agenda and we want to be able to talk to you again.”
Laurence’s takeaway was that even the oil and gas industry can see the cycle is turning and there will be another “golden moment” for the climate movement. That’s why she thinks we should be as optimistic as they are! At Climate Curious, we’ll be sure to be with you during the highs and lows of the climate movement and help build momentum and resilience whether it’s a golden age or a tough time!
