Neighbors United

The document describes how the organization Neighbours United used deep canvassing—a listening-based outreach method—to overcome climate skepticism in Trail, British Columbia. By conducting 1,181 in-depth conversations focused on storytelling rather than facts, the campaign achieved a 40% persuasion rate, leading the city council to unanimously vote in April 2022 to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

• Neighbours United implemented 'deep canvassing', an outreach method originating from the LGBTQIA+ equality movement that focuses on listening to people's mixed feelings and providing a safe space to resolve internal conflicts, rather than arguing over facts.
• The campaign in Trail conducted 1,181 one-to-one conversations lasting 15 to 20 minutes each, resulting in a 40% overall movement or persuasion rate.
• The outreach effort led to a unanimous city council vote in April 2022 to transition all sectors to 100% renewable energy by 2050, with a transition plan required within one year.
• The organizers discovered that community members typically required a climate story to be modeled for them before they could link climate change to their personal experiences with floods, heat waves, and wildfire smoke.

APA

Low, J. (2022). Neighbors United. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/news-events/neighbors-united/

Chicago

Low, Joshua. Neighbors United. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, 2022. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/news-events/neighbors-united/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Low |first1=Joshua |title=Neighbors United |publisher=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |date=26 September 2022 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/news-events/neighbors-united/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{low2022neighbors, author = {Low, Joshua}, title = {{Neighbors United}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/news-events/neighbors-united/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }