#WorldBankWorldProblems: Campaigning for a sustainable energy future for the Global South
#WorldBankWorldProblems: Campaigning for a sustainable energy future for the Global South
The Big Shift is a coalition of think tanks and NGOs calling on the world’s Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) to take urgent action on climate change.
Here’s how we did it:
Conducted across social media, together with employee outreach and events, we timed our campaign around critical moments at the World Bank in 2022, namely the Annual Meetings and COP27.
We took a two-fold approach to influence decision-making: Building public pressure by revealing the impact of the Bank’s investments on communities and the climate, while galvanising employees to take action from within.
Twitter and LinkedIn were used to call out the hypocrisy in the Bank’s continued investments in fossil fuels. Bold stats, graphics, and quotes brought the effects of poor policies to life and received 231,000 impressions, with an average engagement rate of 8%.
We forged relationships with campaigners, policy makers and climate scientists around the world including Kareena Gore, Bill McKibben, Christiana Figueres and Caroline Lucas MP. As well as maximising reach, the support of well-respected figures with a combined Twitter following of 3.5million ensured The Big Shift’s demands were taken seriously.
The campaign also publicised a report on the Bank’s fossil fuel investments since signing the Paris Climate Agreement. In conjunction with The Big Shift’s own outreach, this was picked up by the media, including The Guardian, The Financial Times and Politico, with estimated coverage views of 2.8 million.
We reached World Bank employees through a LinkedIn Message Ad campaign, including an anonymous survey to gather insider views on the Bank’s climate finance policies. Close to 1,000 employees engaged with us, at a CTR of 41.16% and a CPC of 57p. We plan to use their insights in the next phase of this campaign.
Following a positive response at the Annuals, momentum was maintained throughout COP27. This included making a video featuring voices from across the Global South, like Goldman Prize recipient Chibeze Ezekiel, along with Green Party MP Caroline Lucas. It received 2.4K+ views, and an engagement rate of 10%.
Looking at the success of any campaign, analytics only tell one side of the story. One of the most critical achievements of this campaign was opening new channels of communication with sustainably-minded people at the Bank.
There was a distinct change in conversations at the 2022 Annuals, with more questions on the move to renewables in public meetings and the need for a Paris Alignment Methodology. Most importantly, the need for MDBs to align their spending with climate goals was included in the final cover text for COP. A first of its kind moment, described by Bloomberg as “the biggest win yet at COP27”.
“Working with Fugu built a fresh, creative angle to our campaign and their support with global engagement far beyond the coalition’s reach led to our messages being noticed and taken on board by decision makers. Our work together brought tangible results in shifting finance out of fossil fuels.”
Sophie Richmond, Global Lead, Big Shift Campaign