89% of the world support more climate action - why do we think we're a minority?
Plus, a water-level view of the climate crisis from our guest writer Clare.
Today’s introduction is brought by our guest writer Clare Ambrose. Edited by Issy Pountney.
I’m sitting here drinking my morning cup of tea (cradling the mug for warmth) on my front deck. This is not how I thought my living situation would turn out.
I currently live on a 50ft narrowboat and travel around the UK waterways going with the flow and seeing where life takes me. I’m off grid and have a solar-power set up, diesel engine, compost toilet and get my water from the taps provided on the canals.
I've been living aboard for over 8 years now and I love it. It's allowed me to grow and build resilience while satisfying my inner explorer and connecting me to nature.
My activism started a few years after moving onto my boat, in April 2019, with a book club book on plastic pollution. I then ended up at an Extinction Rebellion talk in Oxford with over 100 people. The urgency in the talk brought into focus the scale of the crisis we are in and, in that moment, I knew I needed to take action. It felt like the only thing to do was to quit my job, which didn't seem important in comparison to the scale of the climate and nature emergency, and head down to London for my first ever protest.
Living on the water brings into focus our connection with nature and I see the impact of the climate and biodiversity crisis as the seasons pass. From my waterside view, I notice the seasons seem to have gone into overdrive.
With every passing storm - the frequency and severity of the raindrops batter down harder on the roof. The winds rock the boat all night, bringing down twigs and even trees around us. Rivers and canals break their banks more often, bringing a whole range of risks to boaters.
In the summer, the baking 40 degrees Celsius days make me feel like I live in a giant sauna; it’s a constant balancing act between getting enough shade and having enough solar power.
And, during this long cold winter, I’ve had to deal with erratic weather from snow and ice to unprecedentedly fierce storms bringing flooding and destruction.
I worry about the future of boating and how the climate crisis will impact my way of life. As a boater I am quite resilient and adaptable and tend to roll with the challenges life throws at me, but will there be a point when it becomes unmanageable to live here? Will the storms become too severe; the floods too bad; the heat unbearable to live aboard? Who knows?
Living on a narrowboat has brought me closer to nature and shown that it's possible to live in a way that is more connected our environment. Perhaps it can teach us to how to embrace alternative living? To help us build a more resilient future.
Newsletter share image from Rob Curran via Unsplash.
What’s Going On?
89% of the world support more climate action - why don’t we realise that?
What I learned from going undercover with the UK far right for a year.
Twelve years on from the Rana Plaza factory collapse and still no closure.
“I am going to Saudi Arabia, or my grave”: The exodus of Ethiopia’s frustrated youth.
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Things We Want To Share:
You’re invited! Brussels Climate Drinks - 21st May
The next Climate Drinks are here! Join us on the 21st May from 18h CEST in Barcine. RSVP (free) through Eventbrite so we know how many people to expect.
Our collaborative clothes swap in Brussels was a success!
Thank you to those of you that joined the clothes swap on April 22nd in Brussels! Co-organised with Fashion Revolution Belgium and Commons Hub Brussels, the event marked the start of Fashion Revolution Week and Earth Day. We had around 30 attendees & the remaining clothes were donated to the local upcycling project Cyclup.
Launch of the 89% Project
About 89% of the world’s population want stronger action to fight the climate crisis but believe they are in a minority, research suggests.
The data comes from a global survey that interviewed 130,000 people across 125 countries and found 89% thought their national government “should do more to fight global warming”.
The 89% project is a journalistic collaboration by Covering Climate Now, The Guardian, Agence France-Presse and many other newsroom partners. It’s designed to showcase the widespread support for climate action.
“If you were to unlock the perception gaps, that could move us closer to a social tipping point amongst the public on climate issues,” said Dr. Niall McLoughlin with the United Kingdom’s Climate Barometer research group, as reported by The Guardian.
The 89 Percent Project is organised around two tent pole events: the Covering Climate Now Joint Coverage Week which took place on April 21, and a second Joint Coverage Week in October 2025 in the lead-up to the COP30 UN climate summit in Brazil. CCNow invites journalists and news organizations everywhere to join this effort — by running news stories, collaborating with other newsrooms, joining and organizing public events, amplifying the project’s journalism on social media, and more.
Find out how to get involved on the CCNow website.
So Now What Do I Do?
LEARN SOMETHING
Read: Matriarchy is not a mirror of patriarchy by
.Watch: A poetic provocation on reorienting our relationship to wealth by Ashanti Kunene.
Working Class Climate Alliance talk on intersection of climate and migration 30th April (17:30-19:00 BST)
DO SOMETHING
Get involved in the online Slow Fashion Challenge, starting 1st May!
Brussels: Join the next Palestine march on 11th May from 13h CEST.
Women aged 18-30: Sign up for the Young Feminist Summer Camp in Brussels by 15th May!
London: Join the national day of action against Shell on the 20th May. (details incoming).
Brussels: Save the 22nd May for an non-profit strike day of action!
France: Help make the Décroissance Le Festival a reality this July!
Stay in the loop
You can follow us on Instagram @thegreenfix_ . Bluesky @thegreenfix.blsky.social and LinkedIn. Connect with Cass on Instagram @cass.hebron, Bluesky @casshebron.bsky.social and LinkedIn.
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