Getting conservative MPs to imagine a low-carbon England

Despite the global impact of climate change, it’s an issue that’s highly politicised; championed by liberals and often treated with caution by conservatives. Given the importance of engaging all parties in the issue, WWF embarked on a ground-breaking piece of research to develop low-carbon messages to appeal to conservative audiences. Our challenge was to use this insight to develop a campaign to communicate a low-carbon message to conservative MPs.

We wanted to give MPs a positive vision for a low-carbon England in 2030. We wanted to convey that a low-carbon England means protecting the things we love - our heritage, our countryside, our local businesses - while having less of the things we dislike, such as pollution and reliance on imported energy. To land this message, we curated an art exhibition entitled ‘Imagine England’ to be held at the House of Commons. Working with artist Jane Skingley, we visited businesses, farms and conservation areas to start a dialogue with local residents. Based on those conversations, Jane painted five beautiful artworks to depict low-carbon landscapes in 2030. In addition to the paintings, we designed a booklet, postcards and audio recordings to help bring the exhibition to life.

Hosted in the Churchill Room at the House of Commons, the event attracted a broad range of attendants - from a host of MPs, to local constituents, to school groups. The event created a platform for WWF to help communicate a low-carbon message in a way that transcended political boundaries.