Mainstreaming climate objectives into sectoral work and policies is widely advocated as the way forward for sustainable public–private action. However, current knowledge on effective climate mainstreaming has rarely translated into policy outcomes and radical, transformational change. This ‘implementation gap’ relates to the limitations of current approaches, which do not adequately address so-called ‘internal’ or ‘personal’ spheres of transformation. Here, we address this gap and provide an integrative climate mainstreaming framework for improving and guiding future sustainability research, education, policy and practice.

Current knowledge on what makes climate mainstreaming effective has, so far, seldom translated into policy outcomes and radical, transformational change. This ‘implementation gap’ is related to the limitations of current approaches. The latter tend to focus on isolated, highly tangible, but essentially weak leverage points that do not adequately link practical and political solutions with ‘internal’ or ‘personal’ spheres of transformation. This link involves an internal (mindset/consciousness) shift leading to long-lasting changes in the way that we experience and relate to our self, others, the world and future generations. It requires unleashing people's internal potential and capacity to care, commit to, and effect change for a more sustainable life across individual, collective, organisational and system levels. To address this gap, we analyse how such internal dimensions can be integrated into climate mainstreaming, to move beyond its current, partial focus on external and technological solutions. Through a robust investigation of how to scale up climate mainstreaming in a more transformative manner, we explore how mainstreaming and conscious full-spectrum theories can be related to fundamentally advance the field and improve current approaches. The resulting integrative framework breaks new ground by linking the mainstreaming of climate considerations and internal dimensions across all spheres of transformation. We conclude with some policy recommendations and future research needs.

Linking climate policy integration/mainstreaming and personal development: an integrative framework.

Creating the conditions for meaningful relationships is essential to understanding Aboriginal worldviews and co-designing ways of working to achieve better health outcomes. Non-Aboriginal health professionals struggle to recognise the importance of social relationships to Aboriginal peoples and tensions emerge due to these different worldviews informed by different ontologies and epistemologies. This is more so in clinical settings where training and models of care are often inadequate for working with Aboriginal people. The impact of different understandings of relationships on the provision of health services to Aboriginal peoples remains under-researched. There is a critical need to reassess the way clinicians are supported by their organisations to engage with Aboriginal clients in competent and meaningfully ways.

The paper provides key insights into an Aboriginal-led participatory action research project and the work of Aboriginal Elder co-researchers with non-Aboriginal mainstream service staff to better understand the importance of social relationships from an Aboriginal worldview. The paper critically engages literature on clinical service provision for Aboriginal peoples, along with an examination of the Australian Psychological Society Code of Conduct, to explore the tensions between professional training and the need to build relationships with Aboriginal clients.

Through the Elders, non-Aboriginal service staff have expanded their understanding of Aboriginal culture, kinship and the importance of country to Aboriginal wellbeing. The Elders mentored staff to unpack the tensions between worldviews in clinical settings. The research resulted in a co-designed culturally safe framework for non-Aboriginal practitioners, which is building confidence, capacity and competence to work in partnership with Aboriginal peoples. The framework emphasis the need for culturally safe models of care. The Elders have supported non-Aboriginal staff to sit between the two worldviews to develop ways to work with Aboriginal clients and shift mainstream models of mental health care to improve the wellbeing of Aboriginal people.