Thanks Alden for sharing,
and for your very fitting words about Hunter. In international climate policy and negotiations you meet a lot of people – I met and worked briefly with Hunter a long time ago and he has stayed vividly in my mind, because of two things: His strategic mind and his very gentle way of guiding more junior colleagues like me at the time. Rest in peace Hunter.
--
Petter Lydén
Head of International Climate Policy Division
Germanwatch e.V.
Stresemannstr. 72
10963 Berlin, Germany
Mobile: +4916091269392
E-Mail: lyden@germanwatch.org
Von: CAN-talk <can-talk-bounces@listi.jpberlin.de> Im Auftrag von Alden Meyer
Gesendet: Mittwoch, 11. September 2024 00:37
An: Can-Talk <can-talk@listi.jpberlin.de>; CLEAN List <clean@usclimatenetwork.org>; croissant-conspiracy@googlegroups.com; ICPHub Team <ICPHubTeam@ICPHub.org>; kitchencab@googlegroups.com; pop@lists.partnershipproject.org
Betreff: [CAN-talk] Hunter Cutting's passing
Friends:
I am sad to report that Hunter Cutting, a dear friend and colleague to so many of us in the climate movement, passed away this past Saturday. I’m told he was getting over a serious long-term illness when he had heart complications and was admitted to hospital in San Francisco, where he had a peaceful death surrounded by his family.
Hunter was an iconic figure in our movement, working at the intersection of climate science and policy, campaign strategy, and communications. Along with many of you, I benefitted greatly from his insights, analysis, and guidance over the years.
In the mid-1990s, he helped to launch and lead We Interrupt This Message, a national media strategy center dedicated to building the capacity of front-line organizations working for social justice. In 2004, he joined Resource Media as its Associate Director for Energy and Climate, starting a 20-year journey as an innovative thinker – and doer – on climate strategy and communications.
He was a member of the founding team for Climate Nexus, serving as Senior Director for Strategy. His many accomplishments there included scoping and launching the Nexus workstream on U.S. LNG exports, developing the organization’s strategy on greenhouse gas removals and the supply of critical minerals, and leading the development and launch of Climate Signals, a first-of-its-kind science database and digital platform curating climate change attribution literature and providing resources for discussing extreme weather events and other climate change impacts in real time.
Many of us worked with Hunter in the context of the IPCC, where his communications expertise and savvy were put to especially good use. He participated in thirteen IPCC reports over the years, served as an invited expert reviewer in the AR6 cycle, was seconded to the IPCC Secretariat to assist with the rollout of that report, and served on the strategic communications council for the IPCC Chair.
Hunter was a prolific author; his seminal works include his 2013 publication, Right Here, Right Now: A Communications Guide to Climate Change Impacts, and in 2006, Talking the Walk: A Communications Guide for Racial Justice, co-authored with Makani Themba. He also wrote numerous articles for general audiences, such as his 2017 Huffpost piece “El Niño + Climate Change = Godzilla?” (the title of which illustrates how Hunter used humor to draw his audience in).
Hunter was a brilliant strategist and communicator; he was also a kind and generous human being, always willing to pitch in with advice and support for his colleagues and to mentor people coming up in the field. He was a dear friend and will be sorely missed.
In sorrow and gratitude, Alden
