Narratives That Move Markets: Creative Strategy for the Green Transition
The green transition has had a challenging year. 2025’s geopolitical, regulatory and economic pressures are slowing progress for clean energy investment and deployment. But whilst the opportunities for growth (and the paths to get there) may have changed, they are still abundant. In our new reality, strategic storytelling is an incredibly powerful tool to inspire confidence, unlock capital and drive progress.
Introduction
One of the uncomfortable truths we have to live with at this moment is that our natural world is in crisis. In the last ten years, institutions of all kinds – from governments to corporations – have rallied together to reduce the impact that industrialisation has had on our planet, galvanised by the Paris Agreement in which all nations were brought together to stem the tide of climate change.
As with so many things in life, big challenges come with big opportunities – and moving to a greener world is one of the biggest. “Transitioning to a net zero world,” the UN says, “is one of the greatest challenges humankind has faced. It calls for nothing less than a complete transformation.” And whilst the energy sector “holds the key to averting the worst effects” of our changing climate, reaching our goals requires that every industry, every country and every citizen does their part.
“With 2030 approaching fast, there are new realities which the green transition industry must grapple with – and engaging every stakeholder in the process has never been more important.”
Now, with 2030 (the year by which emissions need to be reduced by almost half) approaching fast, there are new realities which the green transition industry must grapple with – and engaging every stakeholder in the process has never been more important. From messaging frameworks that strengthen investor confidence to localised narratives which encourage community consent, strategic storytelling is an essential piece of the energy transition puzzle.
Where we are in the journey to green energy
Since the landmark Paris 2015 Climate Agreement, nearly 200 countries and thousands of private companies have committed to, and made progress towards, reducing global warming. This is an imperative grasped by virtually everyone, because if we don’t bring the world’s average temperature down, the impacts of climate change – from floods to droughts, wildfires to food shortages – will increase in both frequency and severity, threatening our very existence.
To reach the goals of the Paris Agreement (limiting global warming to 1.5°C), all nations need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. And to do this, the way we produce and consume energy must change dramatically, so that emissions released into the atmosphere are balanced by the removal of the equivalent amount – i.e. achieving net zero.
Decarbonisation is the primary way in which we will achieve net zero, which means using ‘clean’, i.e. renewable, energy sources such as wind, solar and hydroelectric power instead of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. Today, net zero targets have been “enshrined in law or outlined as a goal in policy documents” in more than 70 countries, as reported by McKinsey, and 155 countries have pledged to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030. On the corporate side, two thirds of Fortune 500 companies have made climate commitments, and more than 7,000 businesses have set emissions reduction targets through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
“The economic opportunity is enormous: in the UK alone, the value of the net zero economy is estimated to be £1 trillion by 2030.”
BloombergNEF, the strategic research group that has investigated the markets and technologies shaping the energy transition for more than 20 years, sets the scene for where we are in the journey: “2024 was a pretty strong year for clean energy deployment. Solar PV installations were up 35% year-on-year, wind was up 5%, energy storage installations rose 76%, and EV sales gained 26%... [with] most of these sectors continuing to grow in the Americas and EMEA regions,” showing that, in brief, “clean energy technologies will continue to grow.”
The economic opportunity is enormous: in the UK alone, the value of the net zero economy is estimated to be £1 trillion by 2030 – approximately a third of the UK economy’s value today.
But, the harsh truth remains that we are not where we need to be.
The plot twists of 2025
Our progress in the journey to net zero is stalling, in very large part due to geoeconomics and difficulty in securing capital investment. “Despite years of continuous and rapid acceleration, it is never enough,” BNEF reports, with their analysts concluding that “global energy transition investment is running well below the level required to get on track for net zero by mid-century.”
Market performance in the energy transition has been knocked by a host of problems relating to policy, politics and profitability:
Uncertainty with regard to policy and regulation is cited as the biggest barrier in KPMG’s 2025 survey of energy transition investors.
Supply chain disruption and geopolitical issues are among the greatest risks to clean energy strategies, cited by 79% and 78% respectively in WTW’s global survey of leaders across natural resources sectors.
Costs and competitiveness threaten the sector, with energy prices rising for consumers – in the UK, wholesale electricity prices rose by 40% in early 2025.
“Market performance in the energy transition has been knocked by a host of problems relating to policy, politics and profitability.”
Capital is not flowing where it should, with business cases being hard to prove, manufacturers of newly-required technologies struggling to deliver at scale (meaning these technologies are not cost-effective for consumers), and the challenges of developing new products and processes at the speed at which we need them. Essentially, the ecosystems needed to enable the energy transition are struggling with economic shockwaves sent by, amongst other things, the Trump administration, which is “aggressively rolling back climate action.”
It’s also true, though, that by this point in the journey to net zero, many of the easier changes have already been made. In developed markets, electric vehicles and home solar systems are already being adopted – but, inevitably, reaching these levels of adoption means that the rate of progress starts to flatten. The next wave of growth in the energy transition will be all about the new opportunities emerging from the current challenges.
Getting green projects over the line
Fall-through rates for decarbonisation projects are less than ideal. In the US, for example, over 1,000 low-carbon hydrogen projects have been announced in the last ten years, but fewer than 15% have reached FID (final investment decision stage, at which projects are greenlit).
The uncertainty surrounding investment in the industry is of course having an effect on the funding and progress of green projects. Here is where crafting the right narratives can resonate with stakeholders, and create much-needed momentum.
“Confidence is as valuable a currency as capital. To get more green projects over the line, stakeholders must be proactive in shaping the environment in which those projects are judged.”
In today’s market, confidence is as valuable a currency as capital. To get more green projects over the line, stakeholders must be proactive in shaping the environment in which those projects are judged. That means derisking critical developments.
Collaboration and engagement are the keys here. Forming partnerships that pool expertise, resources and political capital can spread risk and demonstrate stability to investors. Active engagement with policymakers and regulators can ensure that the practical realities of delivering net zero are reflected in how projects are funded and planned – and, crucially, that returns on investments are risk-adjusted to account for their long-term and interdependent nature.
This is where creative strategy becomes a tangible asset. By framing these proactive steps within a compelling, evidence-based narrative, organisations can position themselves not as passive recipients of market forces, but as credible, informed drivers of the energy transition. The right story can not only make sense of the current reality but help to actually shape it.
Stories as strategy
Storytelling as an important tool in the climate change arsenal is not a new idea: in 2017, researchers writing for the Energy Research & Social Science Journal set out in detail how storytelling is an “important device in helping people from different disciplines and different domains better understand the world and each other in working on applied environmental problems.” But it is underused.
Far from being a nice-to-have add-on, a well-crafted narrative brings together disparate, complex ideas into a cohesive scenario that is easy not just to accept, but to be excited about. In the energy market, it can translate technical ambition into the kind of clarity that investors need, backed by data and grounded in context. For example:
Confidence-inspiring narratives for investors – intricate technical and financial situations explained in terms of profitability, such as turning assumptions about capacity and grid interconnection into a clear proposition supported by independent sources.
Derisking emerging tech with pathway narratives – technologies such CCUS (carbon capture, usage and storage) mapped out in economic terms through phases of today’s revenue model, medium-term contracts and long‑term market design.
Place-based narratives to build local support – projects clearly tied to regional productivity and jobs data, moving abstract ideas to real local benefits.
Partners that specialise in creative strategies are the vehicles for getting the right messages in front of the right people, at the times when they will resonate the most. At FSC, our role is to help organisations develop messaging frameworks, create evidence-based content and design impactful, tailored visuals and narratives that influence both sentiment and behaviour. In short, we can help inspire the confidence and build the momentum that the green transition needs.
Moving forward
When they were first established, many green transition strategies assumed a different reality than what exists today. We are operating in a new global context, one in which facts and figures alone are not enough.
Narratives that connect technology and policy development, phased economics and local benefits can cut through uncertainty, lower the perceived risk and unlock the capital and commitment needed to deliver. Narratives can accelerate progress, and move the market forward.
The organisations that learn to tell the right stories – to inspire confidence, to demystify new technologies, and to shine a light on the real-world benefits for local communities – will help write the next chapter of our shared energy future.
Future Strategy Club (FSC) is an independent creative agency that uses a unique partnership model to deliver exceptional work for corporates and startups. With a global network of 500+ members covering the full creative spectrum, we deliver a full-service experience without the unnecessary costs of large group agencies.
FSC has direct experience of working in green energy with World Hydrogen Leaders (now part of S&P Global), Green Power Global, SAF and World Power Grid Leaders; and our members have worked across some of the biggest energy companies in the world, including Shell, BP, Exxon Mobile, Ovo and British Gas.
Get in touch to find out why our values, approach and commitment to our clients makes us the creative partner you are looking for in a constantly changing world: hello@futurestrategy.club.
