Leading in the Climate Crisis

Abstract: The escalating climate crisis demands coordinated, collective action. This review paper draws and extends the Social Identity Model of Pro-Environmental Action (SIMPEA) to explore how identity leadership can foster the social and psychological foundations for effective climate mobilization. While SIMPEA outlines the role of social identity in driving environmental engagement, we extend the model by highlighting identity leadership as a critical mechanism for building group identification, collective efficacy and sustained group action. Synthesizing insights from social, environmental, and political psychology, the paper demonstrates how leaders who shape, represent, and embed shared group identities can enhance group-based processes necessary for climate action. We argue that these group-level dynamics are essential for scaling meaningful climate engagement and that dominant individual-focused (i-frame) approaches are insufficient without complementary group-based (g-frame) strategies. This integrative review offers a conceptual framework for understanding how identity leadership can mobilize collective climate action and provides practical insights for policymakers, activists, and organizational leaders seeking to foster environmentally engaged communities. By focusing on leadership as an important driver for group process, the paper advances SIMPEA and contributes to a more psychologically grounded approach to climate leadership.