Climate change is often communicated through alarming data, worst-case scenarios, and urgent warnings. While scientific evidence remains essential, many people feel overwhelmed rather than empowered. At the latest Ecologic Institute Horizon Scan Event, participants explored how positive visions of the future can help drive societal transformation.

For the keynote, we welcomed Jarl Krausing from the Danish think tank CONCITO, who argued that societies need more than warnings about what to avoid. They need inspiring visions of what they can build. Drawing on CONCITO’s work in Denmark and across the Nordic countries, he made the case for moving beyond fear-based climate communication towards a more hopeful and motivating approach.

Beyond fear: giving people a future they want to build

For decades, climate communication has often relied on the assumption that better information automatically leads to better decisions. Jarl challenged this “information deficit” approach, arguing that facts and graphs alone rarely inspire long-term action. Instead, people need a tangible picture of what a successful transition could look like in their everyday lives. Positive visions can create motivation by highlighting not only climate benefits, but also improvements in health, security, quality of life, and nature.

As Jarl put it: “Why run if you can’t see the goal?” This idea is at the heart of CONCITO’s recent book Det Ender Grønt (“It Ends Green”), in which fourteen Danish thought leaders imagine everyday life in a climate-positive society in 2050. Rather than offering a single blueprint, the book presents different possible futures to stimulate democratic dialogue about the green transition.

From climate challenges to shared visions of the future

The keynote showed how positive visions can become practical tools for policy-making. CONCITO has applied vision-building in contexts ranging from national net-zero discussions to local land-use planning and Denmark’s landmark agricultural agreement, which includes the world’s first national carbon tax on farming emissions, set to take effect in 2030.

Rather than starting with debates about individual measures, these processes invite people to imagine the future they want to create together. Creative methods such as guided “time travel” help make climate-neutral futures more tangible, from cleaner air and restored ecosystems to new ways of living and working.

The discussion explored whether modern societies still share common visions for the future and how these can support collective action. Participants emphasised that the green transition needs a compelling narrative connected to everyday values such as fairness, security, livelihoods, and healthy environments. At the same time, visions cannot be imposed from above: they require democratic participation, local ownership, and dialogue.

Examples from Denmark and Germany showed that participatory vision-building can strengthen long-term commitment and implementation by involving people in shaping the future themselves. The discussion highlighted that climate communication must go beyond scientific evidence and include stories that inspire action. Positive visions do not ignore the seriousness of the crisis; they help create direction and turn climate action from a story of sacrifice into a story of opportunity.

As one participant put it: “Negative facts alone do not create change. People need a future they can imagine themselves being part of.”
Horizon Scan is Ecologic Institute’s exclusive discussion series dedicated to questions about the future and our capacity to shape it. Through these conversations, we explore fundamental issues related to sustainable development, research, environmental policy, and societal transformation.