The journal Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development centers on sustainability science and its contribution to guiding policy and practice. To this end, the journal is exploring the device of interviews to enable conversations to flourish. In this wide-ranging interview, Mike Hulme argues that climate change is not confined to scientific exploration. Climate change is a manifestation of the human condition and its many cultural transformations. He suggests that climate change cannot be eliminated, as it is intrinsic to contemporary human affairs.

Hulme also touches on the fascinating practices of storylistening. He introduces Sarah Dillon and Clare Craig, who in their book Storylistening: Narrative Evidence and Public Reasoning explore the collective roles of allowing cognition to wander. They show how stories offer many alternative points of view, thereby opening new ways of conceptualizing; helping to create and coordinate group identities and examine the role of social norms; function as narrative models to extend understanding; and play a crucial role in anticipating and preparing for the unexpected. Storylistening is an imaginative and empathetic discovery. People love to form fantasies, to dream, and to hope. The written narrative is not how most communicate and learn. In this interview, Hulme explains that by storylistening, and through moral enquiry, participants can better understand what is occurring all around them.

The interview as conducted with Professor Tim O’Riordan on 15 July 2024, and published online on 25 February 2025. Read the full interview with Mike Hulme here.