When We Know… But Don’t Act

Over recent weeks, I’ve found myself sitting with a growing sense of unease. The science underpinning the climate and nature crisis is no longer emerging, it is converging. And what it reveals is deeply unsettling. We are not simply confirming what we already suspected. We are learning that:

• the impacts of the climate and nature crisis are arriving faster than expected
• systems are more fragile than we assumed
• risks are more interconnected than our economic and ecological models predicted even a decade ago

The latest and best available science show that we have now breached seven of the nine planetary boundaries – the thresholds that define the safe operating space for humanity. Yes, that’s a lot to take in. And yet, emissions continue to rise, and biodiversity loss accelerates. Here in the UK, the consequences are no longer abstract they are beginning to shape our businesses, our communities, and our daily lives. The recently released National Security Assessment on “Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security” makes for very sober reading.

If we are honest, we are not doing anywhere near enough.
Not fast enough. Not at the scale required.

Business as usual still dominates.

“But people do care…”

This is where the tension becomes impossible to ignore. Because the data tells us something else too – something quietly hopeful. A significant majority of people care deeply about the climate and nature crisis.Many want stronger action.

And yet, most of us believe we are in the minority.

Recent multi-country research led by the University of Birmingham highlights a phenomenon known as pluralistic ignorance: people consistently underestimate how many others share their pro-climate views – sometimes by as much as 20%. In other words: Concern is widespread, but it remains largely invisible.

And that invisibility has serious consequences. Because when people believe others don’t care, they are far less likely to speak, to lead, or to act.

This is not a knowledge problem

For years, we told ourselves that better information would drive change. If people understood the science, surely action would follow.

But the truth is, we now have:

• more reports than ever
• more data than ever
• more corporate commitments than ever

And still, progress falls short. The gap we face is not one of awareness.

It is a gap between what we know, what we say we value, and how we act.

“We knew. What did we do?”

It’s the one question that matters. When the time comes, and that moment is accelerating toward us, how will we look our children, grandchildren, connections in the eye and respond honestly, with integrity. This question is increasingly being asked of politicians, and rightly so. But research into decision-making in politics suggests a more complex and more uncomfortable reality.

Evidence alone rarely drives action.

Even when confronted with robust data, individuals, including policymakers, tend to interpret information through the lens of existing beliefs, incentives, and pressures. This phenomenon, often described as motivated reasoning, means that knowing does not automatically lead to doing.

In other words: the presence of evidence does not guarantee the courage to act on it.

This is not just a political failure.
It is a human one.

It also raises a deeper question, one that extends far beyond Westminster, and one we always ask of ourselves and our stakeholders:

We knew… what did we do?

Why the gap persists

If this were simply a failure of knowledge, it would be easier to solve. But the forces at play are more complex. We are navigating:

• systems designed intentionally for short-term outcomes – profit over people and planet
• incentives that reward continuity over disruption – convenience over consequence
• psychological tendencies that favour certainty over uncertainty

And perhaps most critically, we are navigating this largely alone, or so we believe.

Because when concern remains invisible, it fails to become a social norm, and when it fails to become a norm, it struggles to become action.

If climate risk is governance risk…

…then governance itself must evolve.

We are now entering an era defined by systemic disruption:

• food and water volatility
• supply chain fragility
• workforce impacts
• insurance withdrawal
• financial instability

Yet many organisations continue to operate on assumptions of stability and predictability. This is no longer tenable. The mismatch between the world as it is, and the way decisions are being made, is widening, and with it, the associated risks.

The leadership challenge of our time

This is not just a technical or operational challenge. It is a leadership challenge. It asks us to confront difficult and often uncomfortable questions:

• How do we make decisions in the face of deep uncertainty?
• How do we balance short-term pressures with long-term responsibility?
• How do we act with clarity, compassion, and courage when the path ahead is unclear?

And perhaps most importantly: How do we make care visible so that it becomes action?

Learning from nature: breaking down to renew

In times of disruption, it is tempting to cling to what exists. It feels more certain and familiar. But nature offers a different perspective. On inspiring and informative platforms like AskNature, we are reminded that living systems do not resist change indefinitely. They break down, reorganise, and regenerate.

Decay is not failure, it is a precursor to renewal.

As Rebecca Solnit writes in The Beginning After the End, times of uncertainty are not only periods of loss, but also of possibility. Endings, however uncomfortable, create the conditions for something new to emerge. Think about the caterpillar that becomes a beautiful butterfly. The process involves metamorphosis, where the caterpillar forms a chrysalis, undergoes cellular transformation through imaginal discs, and emerges as a butterfly. The process is difficult and ugly, but the emerging creature is beautiful.

The question is whether we are willing to participate in that emergence, or resist it.

From insight… to action

If concern is widespread but invisible, then one of the most powerful things we can do is make it visible. We need to create spaces where:

• evidence is engaged with honestly
• difficult conversations can happen
• leadership is tested and strengthened
• and action becomes possible

This is why initiatives like The People’s Emergency Briefing matter. They create a shared understanding of reality, and a shared sense of responsibility to act.

An invitation

If you are a business leader, policymaker, or decision-maker, this is your moment. Not because you have all the answers, but because the decisions being made now will shape the future we all inherit. Some impactful and simple upcoming opportunities :

• Attend or host a screening of the People’s Emergency Briefing
• Support the call for a National Emergency Broadcast
• Join us on 29th April at Innovation Zero for our Working Group, facilitated in partnership with Business Declares:
  “Climate Risk is Governance Risk“

Because the challenge is no longer understanding the problem. It is how we meet this vital moment with clarity, compassion, and courage.

Final thought

The problem is not that people don’t care.It is that care is still too quiet to compete with the systems driving business as usual.

Our role as leaders, communities, and individuals, is to change that.

To make care visible, action possible, and to lead in a way that reflects the reality of the world we are now in.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” Edmund Burke, Anglo-Irish writer, philosopher, and politician.