Acevedo, Janquel D.Disney, AvaFielding, Kelly S.Amiot, Catherine E.Hornsey, Matthew J.Moghaddam, Fathali M.Thomas, Emma F.Sutherland, StewartWibisono, SusiloLouis, Winnifred R.2025-05-232025-05-231052-9284http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=86000115694&partnerID=8YFLogxKhttps://hdl.handle.net/1885/733752781Despite sustained efforts of social movements worldwide, there has been a lack of progress on mitigating climate change. Recent research examined the psychological consequences of one-off collective action failures, but there has been little research on how to overcome persistent failure to create social change. This qualitative research (N = 26) interviews leaders, founders, experienced advocates, and philanthropists from organisations ranging from direct action to environmental non-governmental organisations in the Australian climate movement to gain insights into what they believe the movement needs to achieve its goals. Participants focused on strategies both internal and external to the movement. Our thematic analysis revealed two key internal themes: (1) strengthening the movement through movement building, diversity, and coalition building; and (2) building resilience and flexibility by gaining more resources, promoting well-being, and developing more dynamic strategies and tactics. The three critical external themes were (1) speaking and acting ‘truth to power’ by addressing state capture and using government leadership; (2) achieving between-system change by addressing economic systems and social norms; and (3) alignment with nature by respecting the natural world, incorporating climate disasters in communication programs, and expanding personal relevance. We discuss the applied and theoretical implications of our results. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.Funding: This research was supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery grant scheme, DP220101566. This research was supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery grant scheme, DP220101566. We would like to thank Sabrina Nguyen-Ladera for her help in creating Figure\u00A01. Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Queensland, as part of the Wiley - The University of Queensland agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians. This research was supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery grant scheme, DP220101566. We would like to thank Sabrina Nguyen\u2010Ladera for her help in creating Figure 1 . Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Queensland, as part of the Wiley \u2010 The University of Queensland agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.14en© 2025 The Author(s).environmental movementgridlocksocial changethematic analysis2025-03-0110.1002/casp.7007386000115694