Restoring Human Progress
February 2026
University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (2026), Restoring Human Progress: Winning citizens’ support for actions on climate and nature. Authors: Simon Glynn, Gillian Secrett, Claire Whitehead.
Copyright © 2026 University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)
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The report is important and timely. Facts and information take us only so far. If we are to make the breakthroughs needed to resolve the climate and Nature emergencies, we must inspire everyone to see that taking action is not about pain and sacrifice but the creation of a better world. That world is within our grasp, and inspiring support for it is now the task at hand. – Tony Juniper CBE, environmentalist
This is a brilliant and extremely timely report. We need a new and more positive narrative for climate change that all citizens can relate to. ‘Restoring human progress’ really rings the bell for me. – Professor Robert G. Eccles, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Citizens overwhelmingly care about climate change and nature loss, yet this concern rarely shapes behaviour. Responsibility is widely seen as lying with government and business, but these actors lack the public licence to act boldly and for the long term, leaving climate action incremental and vulnerable to backlash as lobbying and media interests reinforce the status quo.
Despite optimism about the future in many parts of the world, most people in G7 countries believe the world will be worse for their children and are, paradoxically, less open to change, making it harder to build support for ambitious transitions.
Public consent is therefore a critical enabler of systemic change. It requires more than elevating climate and nature as priorities; it demands a compelling, future-focused vision that government, business, finance and citizens can activate together – one that restores human progress as a shared aspiration and aligns with the interests of leaders who depend on optimism and openness to drive risk-taking, innovation and investment.
This report – a collaboration between the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and Zero Ideas – sets out three principles for winning back citizens’ support for climate and nature in ways that help restore human progress and that create alignment across societal, political and economic actors:
Deliver meaningful gains. Involve citizens in shaping the future of sectors they care about and design climate and nature solutions that sit within the broader mix of issues that affect people’s everyday priorities and sense of self-interest.
Play to national strengths. Choose where each country can thrive, lead and win by building on its unique natural, economic and industrial strengths and ambitions.
Believe in better. Recognize and celebrate achievements, strengthen a sense of belonging and make people feel part of something bigger, embracing the journey towards a better future.
Restoring human progress as a believable and achievable goal can unlock citizens’ support for policies on climate change and nature loss, and for our prosperity that depend on them. The insights in this report point to a new, ambitious, and ultimately rewarding leadership agenda. Government, business, finance and citizens share a common interest in restoring human progress. The opportunity now is to bring these different actors together and turn that interest into collective action for our shared future.
Download the research report here, or from the CISL web site.
This report shines a spotlight on one of the key challenges for climate and biodiversity action – how to build lasting public support. Its suggestions on how we might shift the focus to one on human progress and ways to unlock a future people actually want to see are a valuable contribution to a necessary debate. – Paul Watkinson, Former chief negotiator of France to the UNFCCC
Restoring confidence, and making progress tangible, is now a core leadership task, and this paper offers a clear way to start. – Lindsay Hooper, CEO, CISL