A conversation with Mik Aidt, climate communicator and co-host of The Sustainable Hour, about the need to reset the climate movement – starting with connection, democracy, and shared values.
By Robert McLean
Some people do not just talk about change – they live inside it, wrestle with it, and try to reshape it. In Geelong, one of those people is Mik Aidt.
For more than a decade, Aidt has been a familiar voice on community radio, co-hosting The Sustainable Hour, now 588 episodes strong. But behind the microphone lies something deeper: a restless search for meaning, responsibility, and a more effective way forward in the face of the climate crisis.
When asked what drives him, his answer does not begin with science or politics. It begins with family:
“What drives me is that some almost two decades ago, me and my then wife put three children into the world. And with that came not only the responsibility to be a parent, but also to be aware of the dangers in the world and have some sort of answers as a parent if you see a big danger coming.
I felt it was my responsibility to step into that space, figure out what’s going on, and at least have some answers. If not the solutions, at least be able to explain this is how it happened, and this is why you shouldn’t despair.”
A radio journey grounded in solutions
For 13 years, The Sustainable Hour has been going to air on 94.7 The Pulse, a local community radio in Geelong run entirely by volunteers.
“It’s kept us hearing from inspirational people who have solutions. If something happens in the world we speak with people who have insights, and we always find ways of moving forward. We always come out an hour later, enlightened and optimistic about the future.”
That commitment to optimism is notable in a field often dominated by grim statistics and urgency fatigue. Yet Aidt is not naïve about the limits of what has been achieved.
One of Aidt’s most influential contributions came in 2016, when an online meeting between five climate activists sparked what a few years later became a global campaign for governments to declare a climate emergency. More than 2,300 councils and governments across 40 countries declared a climate emergency.
At the time, it felt powerful, but with hindsight, Aidt sees its limits.
“We’re still seeing the graphs rising, politicians taking half-hearted action, and the public not really focusing on how big this problem is. It doesn’t make much sense to warn about a ‘climate emergency’ any longer. That emergency is already here, and it’s not a ‘climate emergency’. It’s actually an emergency.”
This has led Aidt to believe that the climate movement urgently must start rethinking its ‘theory of change’.
Call for a reset
Across the climate space, Aidt senses a growing recognition that something fundamental is not working.
“We need to rethink what we do and have a bit of an assessment, because if we’re honest, we haven’t really been very successful with trying to change our future. Part of the problem lies in how the issue is framed. While public debate often centres on fuel prices or supply shocks, the deeper emissions crisis goes largely unspoken. The real problem is that we are burning fossil fuels in the first place. Who’s talking about that?”
Recently, Aidt has begun writing on Substack, where his thinking has broadened beyond traditional climate discourse.
“It’s like a ‘writer’s sandbox’… a bit like writing a diary – your feelings, your emotions, your thoughts.”
He has begun exploring a wider horizon – one that includes politics, values, artificial intelligence, robotics, and future societal shifts.
“What’s going to happen in the future has a lot to do with climate, yes, but also with AI, robots and a whole new society where things are not like they used to be. Fusion energy, for instance, where you can make energy from a cup of water, once the code is cracked. Fusion will make all our current discussions about renewables versus fossil fuels redundant.”
The climate crisis does not exist in isolation – it is unfolding alongside other disruptive forces.
Life, not degrees
“What if we had not started talking about ‘1.5 degrees’ and ‘net zero’ but instead we had talked about life on our planet, and protecting life? I think we would be more together… our communities would be more on the same path.”
For Aidt, persuasion has failed. Petitions and lobbying have not delivered systemic change.
“That thing about persuasion doesn’t work. We don’t change the minds of politicians by knocking on their doors. The only way we can change things is if we are a lot of people who think the same way. Then we will take power.”
At the heart of Aidt’s thinking is a value rarely emphasised in political discourse: humility. Drawing on his experience between Denmark and Australia, he has observed some cultural differences.
“It is about culture. The Danes are being taught during childhood and youth about humility, about consensus making, about togetherness. In Australia, we see politicians shouting at each other. I notice a lot of aggression and tension, bullying, trolling, misinformation and lies. It begins with individualism… the ‘me, me, me’ syndrome. But step back for a moment! You’re just one little grain of sand in a vast universe. When everyone’s a bit more humble, it brings some new possibilities in the way that we can be together.”
Systems don’t change – until people do
“The coming decades will be shaped not only by climate impacts, but by technological disruption and social upheaval. We will be beginning to see refugees from places that are simply too hot. At the same time, AI and robots will soon begin to replace a lot of jobs. There will be suddenly a lot of unemployment. The fear is that we’ll see more people like Trump who say, “I have the big solution”, and then people vote for them, and it’s definitely not the way. We need to talk about reclaiming our democracy, and even deeper: our values. Which kind of values are we going to bring into the future?”
Aidt is clear-eyed about structural barriers. Even simple legal reforms remain out of reach without public backing. His answer returns to creating shared public understanding and a higher level of education.
“We could make some very simple changes that would have a massive impact. For instance, in the Business Act, where it defines the duty of a director as taking care of the company and its shareholders – that’s it. If we simply added a line saying ‘not at the expense of the environment’, or ‘the climate’, it would change everything. Suddenly, directors would be responsible for how their companies affect the world around them.
At the moment, we have large companies acting irresponsibly, but legally that’s fine. The law tells them to focus on money and shareholders, and nothing else. So the question then becomes: how do we get such a simple change implemented?”
It is an idea that has circulated for years – discussed, agreed upon, and yet never realised.
“We’ve talked about this in Geelong for a long time. The idea was raised at a seminar by Robert Hinkley, a former corporate lawyer, and everyone thought, ‘Yes, that makes perfect sense.’ The natural next step seemed obvious – create a petition, apply pressure, get politicians to change the law. But it hasn’t happened. Nowhere near. And the reason is that not enough people understand the significance. That’s why the story has to begin somewhere else.”
Rebuilding connection – face to face
A practical starting point in Aidt’s “reset” is this: rebuild human connection.
“We need to have physical spaces where we get to meet each other. Not through social media. We need to meet each other face to face.”
In Geelong, this idea has taken form in small gatherings – Connection Cafés – where conversations extend beyond climate into loneliness, meaning, and the nature of a good life.
“We’re not transforming the world with one little café, but I think there’s some potential in that way of thinking.”
The most vivid expression of Aidt’s vision is what he calls a “festival of life”. It is an attempt to move beyond fear-based messaging and towards something shared, joyful, and meaningful.
“A festival where we are really, really happy about celebrating life, but also about protecting life… something that is so important for every one of us. Everybody would open their doors, performances, music, a whole society having a party on just that one night.”
If there is a single thread running through Aidt’s thinking, it is that there is no final answer – only an ongoing conversation.
“I don’t think there’s one answer. That’s an ongoing dialogue that we need to have with each other,” he says.
And perhaps that is where his work ultimately sits – not as a set of solutions, but as an invitation to rethink, reconnect, and reimagine what it means to live well on a changing planet.
This article is a summary of Robert McLean’s interview with Mik Aidt, which was published in a Climate Conversations podcast episode on 28 April 2026.
Written in the spirit of Earth Day, these are Mik Aidt’s reflections over how we create a shift in society that “can move us from knowing to acting.” Posted on Substack.com. What do you think? The comments field is open at the bottom of the substack post.