This article is written by Faith Edem, Economic Advisor, Environment and Climate Change Canada. They represent her personal view and not those of her organisation.

  • The problem: Climate communication needs to be more effective to demonstrate impact on climate ambition.
  • Why it matters: Climate communication supports the ambition and accountability of climate action.
  • The solution: Include more resilient language to demonstrate impact. This can be done by ensuring communication centres economy-wide action, provides quantifiable impacts that are communicated accessibly, utilises a holistic approach and supports accountable governance for a just transition.

One of the greatest accomplishments of climate change is how widely climate impacts have been shared and how that information has sparked global climate action. Certainly, over the last two decades, climate communication has become the vehicle to champion urgent climate action. Notably, climate change communicator Al Gore won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for sharing foundational knowledge on climate change to inspire future generations. In his work Al Gore championed accessible information to leverage support for climate action.

Al Gore’s work and many before him have championed a global awareness of climate impacts that has led to transformative commitments such as the Kyoto Protocol, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Montreal Protocol and the Paris Agreement. Collectively, the global community has demonstrated a willingness to act on climate related issues such as air pollution, waste management and public health. This has created a path forward for ambitious goals. However, as environmental challenges become a higher priority for countries at the global level, climate communication will need to adapt to push the envelope further on climate action at the individual level.

Folks are looking for solutions because the current level of climate communication is spurring uncertainty that falls into climate anxiety.

The evolution of climate awareness has presented a double-edged sword of increased knowledge with increased apathy for the everyday person. As climate change remains a steadfast challenge, the public is seeking climate communication that can demonstrate impact and supports their willingness to act. In 2021, Pew Research found that citizens in advanced economies are willing to change how they live and work at least some to combat the effects of global warming, but whether their efforts will make an impact is unclear.

Shifting sands

The public is slowly shifting towards a communication model that demands actionable priorities to reduce the uncertainty of climate change. The public seeks to increase its resiliency as they come to head with the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and 2050 net-zero goals. Folks are looking for solutions because the current level of climate communication is spurring uncertainty that falls into climate anxiety.

In a recent Harvard Medical School article, Dr Stephanie Collier defined ‘climate anxiety’ or ‘eco-anxiety’ as “distress related to worries about the effects of climate change. It is anxiety rooted in uncertainty about the future and alerting us to the dangers of a changing climate.” This growing sense of uncertainty has coloured the way we receive climate communication whether consciously or subconsciously, the feelings intertwined with climate anxiety impact our thinking around climate communication. The uncertainty of climate communication stems from the concern that nothing is coming from these efforts.

Since the majority of countries have committed to the Paris Agreement, targets have become the status quo of climate discussions. To bring the public on board to support a communication model that champions resiliency and impact, the language will need to centre economy-wide action, provide quantifiable outcomes that are communicated accessibly, utilise a holistic approach and support accountable governance for a just transition.

Meeting the public need

Climate communication will need to provide accessible insights into the progress and momentum being made on climate action. When I think of all of the climate communication pieces that I’ve come across, the products that stuck with me were the ones that identified a clear problem and potential solutions for a pathway forward, while committing to advocating for additional action.

Climate communication will need to build and integrate resilient language to support ambitious climate goals and actions.

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