Two crises. Constructing the meaning of the “climate crisis” by the residents of Gdańsk

Abstract

Widespread mobilisation is needed to mitigate the climate crisis and adapt to its ongoing consequences. Drawing on the ‘pedagogy of common place’ we attend to the conceptual basis for individual barriers against climate action and ask ‘how do urban residents conceptualise the climate crisis in the context of their city?’ We have conducted four focus group discussions in the city of Gdańsk, Poland, each with a duration of 2 h. Two groups consisted of people with ‘moderately environmental' views, and two groups consisted of people with ‘strongly environmental views'. Across both groups, we found a conceptual distinction between a ‘big crisis' (global), calling for an urgent and devoted response but also instilling severe distress that triggers distancing, and a ‘small crisis' (local), which is also emotionally challenging but easier to relate to because it concerns local, tangible issues. Based on our findings, we suggest that evoking the ‘small crisis' can be a means of mobilising citizens outside the category of those with ‘strongly environmental views’ to engage in actions to mitigate and adapt to the ongoing climate action.