Tangelic Talks – Season 02 | Episode 07
Decolonizing Climate Messaging: A Deep Dive on Greenwashing & Power w/ Stefano Cisternino | S02E07
9 minutes to read
In this thought-provoking episode, we sit down with Stefano, a communications expert on the circular economy and climate policy, to unpack the powerful role that storytelling plays in shaping our understanding of the climate crisis. Together, we explore how communication can both illuminate and obscure critical issues like the European Green Deal and circular economy, depending on whose voices are centered—and whose are left out.
Stefano shares insights from his experience working across European institutions and journalism, emphasizing the urgent need to decolonise climate discourse. We discuss how to meaningfully include Indigenous, frontline, and Global South perspectives in spaces traditionally dominated by Western narratives, and why reframing climate education within European institutions is vital. That includes confronting histories of colonialism, resource extraction, and structural inequality, while uplifting diverse and local forms of environmental knowledge.
Greenwashing: Systemic, Subtle, and Strategic
Greenwashing, often misunderstood as mere corporate misrepresentation, is more complex and systemic than we think. Stefano explains that it’s not always malicious but emerges from institutional pressure, political influence, and the push for impact optics over real change.
“We’re shifting from ambition to appearance,” Stefano says. He illustrates how policy teams are pressured into pushing positive climate messaging without transparent, verifiable action plans. The result? A top-down cascade of misinformation that erodes public trust and disengages communities—particularly youth—from institutions and climate discourse.
Misinformation, Power, and Whose Knowledge Counts
Stefano makes a bold assertion: “All knowledge is not neutral.” In climate communication, Western epistemology is often seen as authoritative, while Indigenous knowledge is dismissed as anecdotal or emotional.
This bias silences the lived experiences of rural and Indigenous communities, especially in the Global South. “They are portrayed as victims, not as agents of change,” he says. Even well-meaning international summits like COP often lack meaningful representation from the very people they claim to serve. The result is a climate narrative that reinforces historical imbalances and perpetuates epistemic injustice.
From Communication to Conversation: Listening as a Tool for Change
Stefano urges communicators to practice active listening. “Communication is a two-way process. Most of us, even while listening, are thinking about what we want to say next,” he explains. He shares a powerful story from his time in Colombia, where he was initially excluded from Indigenous gatherings because he approached the space as a researcher, not a collaborator.
After months of silent observation, he earned trust and learned how truly transformative climate communication must begin with humility. “We need to sit at the kids’ table,” he jokes—emphasizing that true inclusion requires de-centering dominant voices and giving space to local realities.
Breaking the Top-Down Trap: Local First, Global Later
Instead of building universal messages from international institutions, Stefano argues for a bottom-up communication model rooted in local context. He stresses that sustainability campaigns cannot be one-size-fits-all.
“You can’t transplant a solution developed in Brussels into Ghana or Colombia and expect it to work,” he says. Even within Europe, the EU Green Deal is poorly understood at the local level. Bridging this gap requires tailored storytelling, cross-cultural co-creation, and partnering with local media, researchers, and community leaders.
Visual Storytelling and Street-Level Journalism
Stefano proposes ditching rigid policy PDFs in favor of accessible formats like oral history, visual storytelling, and street interviews. He shares a sobering anecdote about writing an article on Indigenous music therapy that looked “polished” but felt empty because it lacked community input and context.
He calls for a broader communication toolkit—not just for journalists and NGOs but also policymakers, funders, and climate educators.
From Tokenism to Transformation
At a UN conference in New York, Stefano witnessed yet another panel about Indigenous resilience—with no Indigenous speakers. He recalls one attendee finally standing up and saying: “We don’t want your help anymore. We’re going to do it ourselves.”
This moment of rupture underscores his key message: stop talking about marginalized communities and start talking with them.
Lessons from the Global South
Stefano emphasizes the wealth of circular practices already embedded in traditional societies. In Ghana, for instance, Indigenous forest management systems exist but are absent from national policy documents. In Italy, he remembers agricultural traditions that once blended music, ritual, and planting cycles—now dismissed as unscientific.
“We’re sitting on a pile of wheels, trying to reinvent one,” he says, criticizing Western technocratic arrogance. Indigenous and rural communities have already innovated many climate solutions. We just haven’t been listening.
Three Ways to Decolonize Climate Messaging:
Platform Indigenous and Local Knowledge
Partner with local researchers and media as collaborators, not just sources. Challenge Western-centric algorithms and funding priorities.Train Communicators to Spot Epistemic Bias
Go beyond fact-checking. Ask: Who is quoted? Whose knowledge is amplified? Who is missing from the narrative?Broaden the Communication Toolkit
Embrace visual, oral, and experiential storytelling methods. Prioritize accessibility and cultural context over institutional language.
Thought Provoking Q&A Session with Stefano Cisterino
Stefano Cisterino
Communications Expert on Circular Economy
Stefano Cisterino is a communications expert on the circular economy at ICLEI Europe, where they specialize in making policy and technical topics clear, accessible, and engaging.
Previously, they worked at the European Commission—across DG ENV, DG AGRI, and the Joint Research Centre—where they led media relations and crisis communication during the nitrogen protests, developed the Rural Pact’s online platform, and created public-facing materials on the EU Green Deal.
Beyond their institutional work, they write as an environmental journalist for European media, lead climate education sessions for EU trainees through The Earth Society, direct the Italian Observatory on Climate Misinformation, and coordinate the 2025 energy report for YES-Europe. Their work bridges science, policy, and people—with clarity, honesty, and purpose.
