s the impacts and severity of climate change become more obvious, communication by and between governments and global publics about climate change and sustainability must improve to handle the climate crisis effectively.
Climate communication is a key component of the Paris Agreement on climate change and aligns with the inclusive, democratic, and participatory agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Guidelines based on years of work by leading institutions and platforms such as World Meteorological Organization (WMO), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), UNESCO’s Climate Change Communication and Education Country Profiles, ACT Climate Labs, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, prescribe three important tips for effective climate change communication.
- The information and data on climate change impacts should be clear, easy to read and backed by science to avoid misinformation and increase outreach. Further, it should be verified via reliable sources and institutions such as the UNFCCC and WMO. For e.g., UNFCCC regularly publishes state of global climate change reports and provides specific estimates on GHG emission levels and its possible impacts.
- Along with problem narrative, possible solutions must be discussed and conveyed via messages, public gatherings, and bigger platforms as these motivate people and policymakers to engage. A creative way to do this would be to make information relatable, local, and personal. This may be in the form of compelling emotional stories, raising concerns and red flags, and promoting successful campaigns and case studies. For example, the impact of the 2022 floods in Pakistan which displaced millions and de-reeled its economy raised local and global concerns simultaneously on “loss and damage” and was widely acknowledged at Conference of Parties (COP27) held in Egypt last year.
- Mobilizing climate action should be participatory to ensure equity and justice. This provides everyone freedom and opportunity to raise their voice against environmental issues that matter for the “planet and the people.” One crucial platform for mobilizing such actions is the COP meetings that invite youths, women and community leaders, politicians and heads of governments, researchers, business leaders, and NGOs to engage in discussion on the planet's most critical climate challenges and issues. Businesses have significant influence on climate decisions by governments. Thus, aligning their interests and priorities with the national and global climate goals, further fast tracks the whole process.
Citizen Engagement and Political Will
Experts observe that there is a lack of political will on climate action and this requires enhanced citizen engagement and public demand. According to Anthony Leiserowitz of Yale University, this can be achieved with presence of three simultaneous things: (1) urgency and importance of a problem for public and elites—e.g. support for climate policies, (2) availability of viable solutions—e.g. electric vehicles and solar rooftop solutions (3) high political commitment to embrace the solution—e.g. governments are signatories to Paris Agreement and should take concrete actions to embrace cleaner sources of energy such as solar and wind. It is easier for a large population to persuade and put pressure on political leaders to act.
Proper design of climate communication is critical. It must cater to the needs of individual regions and their stakeholders, as the level of climate change impacts and its perception might vary among them. For instance, action on climate change may look different in a developing country context compared to the developed world, where focus is more on sustainable consumption than creating adaptive capacities.
Similarly, youth perception and expectations by climate leaders may serve as a critical force in deciding the correct and safe future for them and the environment. In this regard, climate activism of Swedish youth activist Greta Thunberg is praiseworthy as she successfully inspired millions of youths globally to join her on streets against governments and demand ‘climate justice’. The recent decision by a UN Committee further strengthens youth power where they have the right to sue their countries over climate. This spark continues even in the upcoming COP28 in UAE where the hosts have initiated several initiatives to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among youths.
There is also an urgent need to communicate women’s critical role and leadership on climate change rather than depicting them as “victims of climate change”. In case of natural disasters women are the most displaced population and face higher livelihood and family pressures. Despite these challenges they outperform men when it comes to strengthening adaptive capacities in climate impacted areas because of their high awareness and knowledge about local conditions, “high motivation and ability to act”, aptly synonymized in words of Stanford Prof. BJ Fogg as “Dolphins”.
Despite the availability of a large quantity of information, insights, regular guidelines and tools by researchers and eminent institutions on effective climate change communication as highlighted above, it is always difficult and tricky to deploy a particular form or method of communication, as the issues and concerns and the required solutions may significantly vary within a society.
An effective climate change communication thus requires continuous innovation to fulfill stakeholder needs while using reliable data, maintaining transparency, and ensuring equity concerns for a climate compatible and caring world.
Editors’ Note: This article was included in our COP 28 special edition, which was published on November 21, 2023, and which you can find here. All articles were written with that publication time frame in mind.
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Climate Change Communication for the Planet and the People
Image via Adobe Stock.
November 29, 2023
We need better climate change communication strategies to build and sustain the political will needed for action. This requires continuous innovation to fulfill stakeholder needs while using reliable data, maintaining transparency, and ensuring equity concerns, writes Dr. Ahmad Mohammad Khalid.
A
s the impacts and severity of climate change become more obvious, communication by and between governments and global publics about climate change and sustainability must improve to handle the climate crisis effectively.
Climate communication is a key component of the Paris Agreement on climate change and aligns with the inclusive, democratic, and participatory agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Guidelines based on years of work by leading institutions and platforms such as World Meteorological Organization (WMO), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), UNESCO’s Climate Change Communication and Education Country Profiles, ACT Climate Labs, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, prescribe three important tips for effective climate change communication.
- The information and data on climate change impacts should be clear, easy to read and backed by science to avoid misinformation and increase outreach. Further, it should be verified via reliable sources and institutions such as the UNFCCC and WMO. For e.g., UNFCCC regularly publishes state of global climate change reports and provides specific estimates on GHG emission levels and its possible impacts.
- Along with problem narrative, possible solutions must be discussed and conveyed via messages, public gatherings, and bigger platforms as these motivate people and policymakers to engage. A creative way to do this would be to make information relatable, local, and personal. This may be in the form of compelling emotional stories, raising concerns and red flags, and promoting successful campaigns and case studies. For example, the impact of the 2022 floods in Pakistan which displaced millions and de-reeled its economy raised local and global concerns simultaneously on “loss and damage” and was widely acknowledged at Conference of Parties (COP27) held in Egypt last year.
- Mobilizing climate action should be participatory to ensure equity and justice. This provides everyone freedom and opportunity to raise their voice against environmental issues that matter for the “planet and the people.” One crucial platform for mobilizing such actions is the COP meetings that invite youths, women and community leaders, politicians and heads of governments, researchers, business leaders, and NGOs to engage in discussion on the planet's most critical climate challenges and issues. Businesses have significant influence on climate decisions by governments. Thus, aligning their interests and priorities with the national and global climate goals, further fast tracks the whole process.
Citizen Engagement and Political Will
Experts observe that there is a lack of political will on climate action and this requires enhanced citizen engagement and public demand. According to Anthony Leiserowitz of Yale University, this can be achieved with presence of three simultaneous things: (1) urgency and importance of a problem for public and elites—e.g. support for climate policies, (2) availability of viable solutions—e.g. electric vehicles and solar rooftop solutions (3) high political commitment to embrace the solution—e.g. governments are signatories to Paris Agreement and should take concrete actions to embrace cleaner sources of energy such as solar and wind. It is easier for a large population to persuade and put pressure on political leaders to act.
Proper design of climate communication is critical. It must cater to the needs of individual regions and their stakeholders, as the level of climate change impacts and its perception might vary among them. For instance, action on climate change may look different in a developing country context compared to the developed world, where focus is more on sustainable consumption than creating adaptive capacities.
Similarly, youth perception and expectations by climate leaders may serve as a critical force in deciding the correct and safe future for them and the environment. In this regard, climate activism of Swedish youth activist Greta Thunberg is praiseworthy as she successfully inspired millions of youths globally to join her on streets against governments and demand ‘climate justice’. The recent decision by a UN Committee further strengthens youth power where they have the right to sue their countries over climate. This spark continues even in the upcoming COP28 in UAE where the hosts have initiated several initiatives to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among youths.
There is also an urgent need to communicate women’s critical role and leadership on climate change rather than depicting them as “victims of climate change”. In case of natural disasters women are the most displaced population and face higher livelihood and family pressures. Despite these challenges they outperform men when it comes to strengthening adaptive capacities in climate impacted areas because of their high awareness and knowledge about local conditions, “high motivation and ability to act”, aptly synonymized in words of Stanford Prof. BJ Fogg as “Dolphins”.
Despite the availability of a large quantity of information, insights, regular guidelines and tools by researchers and eminent institutions on effective climate change communication as highlighted above, it is always difficult and tricky to deploy a particular form or method of communication, as the issues and concerns and the required solutions may significantly vary within a society.
An effective climate change communication thus requires continuous innovation to fulfill stakeholder needs while using reliable data, maintaining transparency, and ensuring equity concerns for a climate compatible and caring world.
Editors’ Note: This article was included in our COP 28 special edition, which was published on November 21, 2023, and which you can find here. All articles were written with that publication time frame in mind.
