This past spring I helped organize the inaugural Canadian national embodied carbon summit. The event brought together over 80 leaders from across the country to work together to assess both where we are, and where we’re going. Aside from all of the aspirational ideas that emerged from the day in terms of future policies, code reform, and national standards the one idea that stuck with me from the day was that all of this effort needed to be ‘politically resilient’ – that we needed to start thinking about how these climate-focused actions would withstand the likelihood of a rightward swing of Canada’s national leadership.

Last week’s US election outcomes, and the immediate implications they will have on climate-focused discussions occurring in Baku and beyond, have brought me right back to that question. Can we better ‘sell’ the benefits of decarbonization of the built environment to conservatives? Can we avoid the cultural-warification of topics like building retrofit and bio-based materials that have plagued the likes of bike lanes and low-emissions zones? Can we create a (new) lexicon that leans more towards economic development and regional job creation and less on all-things-carbon?

We have to start telling stories and ‘flood-the-zone’ with them. Stories of how our transition away from hydrocarbons will make everyone’s life better in both the short and long term. Stories that embrace a return to regionalism, to local material cultures, and of the conservation of what we already have as a means to building political bridges. Stories that illustrate how deregulation could lead to job creation, more housing, and investment in rural communities. Stories that link the future development of our cities with the economic resurgence of our farms and forests. Stories that can help all of us to look forward, not up.