Sir David Attenborough said, “Saving our planet is now a communications challenge. We know what to do, we just need the will.”
This week, Kiwis in Climate hosted a webinar exploring the challenges and opportunities in communicating on climate, with diverse expertise from Marc Daaer (Senior Political Reporter, Newsroom), Pip Wheaton (climate problem solver and systems thinker), and Dr Jess Aitken (research psychologist).
Watch some highlights from the webinar below (or the full hour here) and explore the themes, ideas and resources from this fascinating kōrero.
More people care about climate change and biodiversity loss than ever before. However, while awareness is increasing, research from Yale Climate Communications suggests people are still lacking agency to act on this awareness.
We therefore need to incentivise people to act and build support, by moving from ‘issues-based’ communication to ‘action-based’ communication.
Know thy audience
Because everyone is different, it is important to understand the complexities of your audience and what they care about in this moment. Each person, or audience group, has a unique set of personal and contextual factors that shape what is relevant for them, and what is within their sphere of influence. For example, when discussing environmental issues, farmers are more likely to be interested in talking about productive soil than going vegan. Further, what is relevant for someone today may not be relevant for them tomorrow. Pip shared how an originally playful, upbeat climate action campaign needed to be redeveloped following Cyclone Gabriel, to be appropriate for the changed context.
People or groups can also have different reasons for holding the same belief. For example, two groups can agree we should be doing more to protect Nature, yet this can be based on very different values. One group may view humans as being in an interconnected relationship with Nature (one thread in the interconnected web of Life) and see Nature as having extrinsic value. Another may have the attitude that humans are entitled to dominate the environment, but that we must protect it as we need it for the things it gives us. To effectively incentivise action, pro-environmental messages would need to be framed differently for each group.
As polarisation across social and political issues heightens, climate change has also become a social identity issue. Instead of asking “what side are you on?”, conversations are better framed as “this affects all of us, what can we do about it?”
Beyond the common narratives of fear or hope, there is a third story that transcends right and left. That is the story of stewardship, being a good ancestor, and protecting what we love.
When it comes to news media, New Zealand does a good job for those already engaged in environmental issues, but it struggles to attract the rest. This emphasises the need for different messages with different framing, shared by different messengers across different platforms. David Attenborough, Keir Starmer, Emma Thompson, and Greta Thunberg will each resonate with different audiences.
To resounding virtual applause, Marc suggested that “all journalists should be climate journalists”. Similarly, we should all be climate-communicators. As crew on Spaceship Earth, we all rely on a functioning biosphere to survive.
Moving beyond awareness and care, into action
Discussing what we know is insufficient, we need to ask, ‘what can we do with what we know?’ Ashoka’s Climate Changemaker Playbook, co-authored by Pip, powerfully maps how we can rapidly increase the number of people closing the gap between caring and acting.
With increased understanding of the predicament, we can imagine and share messages of new possibilities. Thinking about desirable futures rather than catastrophic climate scenarios can help us tap into feelings of hope and aspiration rather than nihilism. Practicing imagination fuels a stronger sense of agency for individuals, while also unharnessing ideas for new ways of living and organising. Futerra‘s playbook reimagines climate narratives, with new movements like ‘solarpunk’ envisioning and working towards actualising a sustainable future, interconnected with nature and community.
Another way to build agency is to make progress visible. Groups like the international Project Drawdown, inspire and build agency for people to take pro-ecological action in their own communities. It can also be helpful to identify tangible metrics that can help people understand how their contribution is part of a bigger whole.
For specific, practical actions, there are many useful resources, varying in effort and impact, for example Take the Jump (personal/family) and UN Integrity Matters report (businesses and cities). As Jess reminded us, global-scale issues can feel overwhelming and can undermine agency. Concrete, community-based issues and actions are often more accessible, more relevant, and have a greater likelihood of being sustained due to the collective connection and interpersonal support. Further, actions drive beliefs, which in turn drives further action.
But people’s actions don’t always match the identity they ascribe to.
Subscribing to a green national identity doesn’t equal action
For Aotearoa, being ‘clean and green’ is a uniting social identity, and an international reputation. Because many can connect to it, this framing avoids polarising or excluding certain groups. Research suggests around 90% of New Zealanders say they really care about the environment and see this as a core part of being a New Zealander. However, only around 10% were willing to make sacrifices for the environment or support environmental policies such as public transport. There is a risk that in seeing themselves as a ‘clean and green kiwi’, New Zealanders do not meaningfully engage in supporting environmental policies or making changes in their own lives. This reinforces the need for deeper conversations, and actions-based messaging. To help people embody being a ‘clean and green New Zealander’, have honest conversations about how short-term sacrifices can have long-term benefits. Shifting priorities beyond personal comfort and convenience is an honourable, and necessary, part of stewarding the future for those we love. The Longtime Project describes this as reorienting towards a ‘larger us’, a ‘longer now’, and a ‘different version of the good life’.
More people are worried about climate change than we think – so let’s talk about it
Research suggests that people underestimate the concern for climate change, which is a big problem. If people feel they are alone on an issue, they are less likely to speak up for it. This, in turn, limits the collective education and coordination that we need for a global-scale change. The lack of conversation supporting climate action also means that politicians often do not appreciate how important this topic is to voters. Because governments create policy, putting pressure on your government (for example to keep fossil fuels in the ground), is a powerful action you have agency to take. We are all communicators and can play a pivotal role in connecting the silent majority who care about climate change.
To understand and connect with what someone loves takes genuine curiosity. Jess suggested a multi-step approach that was developed for a social media depolarisation project she worked on.
1) listen to understand what is behind person’s opinion;
2) show vulnerability by sharing a personal story;
3) ask genuinely curious, open questions;
4) share your values and vision for the future;
5) identify concrete barriers in the way of that envisioned future, and how they might practically be overcome.
People are complex and can hold contradictory values at the same time. Effective communication for agency and action comes from listening empathetically, and true human connection. focus on trying to find a point you both agree on, rather than trying to change their mind. Don’t be disheartened if that uncle doesn’t understand or agree with you right away, once a seed is planted and watered, it takes time to grow.
What about the deniers?
Climate denialism still exists, but it has shape-shifted. There are fewer people saying that climate change isn’t real or caused by human activity, but there is still a concerning level of skepticism about the breadth and gravity of climate change, and the level of consensus among scientists. Cambridge University researched the stories that people tell themselves and each other, to justify inaction or inadequate efforts, referred to as discourses of delay. This is strikingly characterised in this cartoon.
As well as misinformation, we continue to see disinformation from places of power that have vested interests in maintaining the status quo. While it can be tempting to double down on the truth and tackle this head on, entering an adversarial conversation can increase polarity and further entrench a person's beliefs. Where possible, ‘pre-bunk’ targeted misinformation campaigns before they occur, by promoting positive climate stories.
Compassion and community
Often climate-stalwarts lament, ‘if only more people cared more…’ But as Pip shared, in many cases “it’s not apathy, it’s a psychological defence mechanism that stops you confronting the truth of what it is that you’re learning”. Facing the reality of the ecological and sociological crises of our world can trigger grief and despair, and it is important to remember this in your conversations. An antidote to this despair is that we are not alone.
Communities, like our KiC whānau, are paramount; not only for supporting each other in moments of despair, but also sharing knowledge, inspiration, and the joy and beauty of being alive. Together we are bigger than the sum of our parts, and Earth depends on us.
Climate Communication & Narrative resources
Explore some great ideas, examples and data on how to take the next step with your climate comms.
Potential Energy Coalition - research showing the right framing and messaging increases support for climate action.
Yale Climate Change Communication - research on climate change knowledge, attitudes, policy preferences, and behaviour.
Ashoka Climate Changemaker Playbook - strategies and tactics to move from caring to acting.
Cambridge discourses of climate delay - study showing discourses that accept existence of climate change but justify inaction or inadequate efforts, illustrated brilliantly in this cartoon
Futerra playbook - Stories to save the world: imagining new climate narratives.
Frameworks - researched-informed articles and toolkits on narrative framing for social change.
Long Time Project - tools to cultivate long-termism in institutions
ACT Climate Labs - research-based comms advice
Climate Outreach (UK) - charity with 20 years experience in public engagement with climate change. The Britain Talks Climate report breaks down the population into 7 ‘marker segments’ to whom very different narratives tend to appeal
albert - telling climate change stories through pop-culture and media.
Ashoka - Climate narratives of possibility
Prof Julia Steinberger - research on decreasing efficacy of political strategies (parts 5-10)
Greenpeace Aotearoa - "7 tips on how to talk about climate change this Christmas", based on the Green Ideas Project research
Comentários