A Climate of Change: Economists Call for Action

October 4, 2008

Leading Canadian economists have been frustrated with the inconsistent messages and misconceptions about the economic impact of climate change. They feel strongly that the (negative) economic impact of inaction is greater than the economic impact of acting. In late September, a small group of economists who believed this and knew that most other Canadian economists thought the same way, came to BSL with a request to help them devise a plan to get visibility for the issue in the upcoming Federal election.

The plan included an open letter to federal political leaders calling for economically coherent action on climate change. To do this we needed to communicate this to rally the support of leading Canadian economists and build a list of signatures. Finally we needed to spread the message from the unprecedented unified voice of leading economists to the general public.

Banfield-Seguin provided communication strategy and writing support for the initiative. We leveraged the power of social networking in creating a Facebook group called ‘The Economics of Climate Change’ (featuring part of the press release and a link to the website), which rapidly accumulated members – it’s now at about 300.

To give a place for all elements of the campaign to live and be seen by all, Banfield-Seguin developed a basic website (www.econ-environment.ca) to host the press release (including external press pick-ups on the story), the open letter, the over 255 signatures of Canadian academic economists, and also several quotes from economists who wanted to add clout to the movement. The press release was also distributed through reputable media outlets such as The Globe and Mail.