THE VERDICT ON THIS ASSUMPTION: True
Engaging the public on climate is challenging because the impacts are often perceived as not personally relevant. 1 . People tend to discount climate impacts because they believe they will occur in the future and not affect them or their family. Therefore, climate change communication needs to showcase personal relevance to motivate action. Research has indicated the significance of framing climate change as a local impact to increase salience, instigate an emotional response, along with showcasing the benefits of action 2 . But consider that local impacts may sometimes be seen as less severe than those occurring in other countries 3 .
Frames Associated with This Assumption:
So, how do we make climate change more accessible to the general public? Some advocacy groups have chosen to focus on specific impacts, rather than the more general, abstract, and long-term changes. And social science research supports this decision. Evidence suggests that a person’s ability to grasp the complexities of climate change might not matter as much as we assumed because social and cultural context, personal experience, feelings, and emotions play a much larger role in shaping perceptions of climate risk and policy preferences 1 .
Social scientists found that describing climate change in more visceral terms (felt, sensory, direct impacts) could help increase the American public’s concern for the issue 2 . Unsurprisingly, people are more likely to trust their own experiences — or even vivid descriptions of other people’s experiences — over statistical information 3 . The use of visceral and emotional messages can help increase appreciation for climate problems and also support for climate solutions 4 . Research points to a number of innovative communication approaches that can help illustrate the ways climate impacts are tangible and personally relevant to a range of audiences. These include incorporating images, video, 3D visualization, scenarios, art, storytelling, and other forms of public narrative into outreach strategies 5 . Imagery that portrays people in personally relevant environments, immediate and realistic contexts, and local future contexts are seen as particularly effective 6 . Focus on how people experience climate change — what sea level rise looks in a community, etc.— instead of the underlying science.
‘Vicarious experiential information’ may take the form of scenarios, narratives, and analogies that can help people make sense of statistical information, imagine the impact of climate change, and reshape their perceptions of risk in ways that ultimately influence public policy preferences 7 . The end goal is to personalize the public’s understanding of climate change by presenting them with a sensory experience that makes such an abstract concept more tangible and relatable. Furthermore, social science suggests opportunities for group and participatory decision-making 8 , as well as the incorporation of story-telling and arts-based work 9 into public education and advocacy campaigns help to increase their overall efficacy.
However, even when climate change is considered relevant, it still competes with other issues for priority. Therefore, a sense of urgency around the issue must accompany personal relevance. Even though a majority of people believe the climate is changing, global warming ranked 10th out of 11 national issues in terms of priority level 10 . The study also indicated that few Americans are ‘very worried’ (15%) about global warming and the majority of Americans see it as a distant threat. In order to create urgency, see the Assumption: People are averse to risk and loss.
- 1Maibach et al. 2009
- 2Weber 2010
- 3Marx et al. 2007; Lertzman 2009
- 4Marx et al. 2007; Moser 2007
- 5Sheppard, 2012; Moser, 2014; Moser and Berzonsky, 2015; Resource Media & Climate Nexus 2013; Climate Access, 2015
- 6Sheppard, 2005; Nurmis, 2015; Nicholson-Cole, 2005; van der Linden et. al., 2015; Spence, Poortinga & Pidgeon, 2012
- 7Marx et al. 2007
- 8Marx et al. 2007
- 9Sachs, etc.
- 10Leiserowitz, et al., 2014
- Highlight potential local climate change impacts to make climate more salient to people in their local context 8 .
- Emphasize the current impacts of climate change around the world 9 while introducing opportunities for engagement 10 .
- Highlight the potential impacts of climate change on human health 11 .
- Tailor messages in ways that recognize different values and worldviews that underlie American culture 12 .
- Emphasize the human contributions to climate change so as to increase people’s sense of social responsibility to rectify problems caused by human action and support policy that does so 13 .
- Create opportunities in which people can process experiential knowledge and analytic information together through group discussions and participatory decision-making 14 .
- Rather than simply focusing on the facts and statistics of climate change, communicate through the use of narratives and storytelling in ways that engage people emotionally and cognitively 15 .
