Climate Change communication: moving from problem to solution to action

The increasing certainty and impact of Climate Change has been increasingly and intensively communicated throughout the past decade, and is today a central subject of political discussion.

Yet, little has happened in actual progress throughout the past 2 decades: emissions have risen; the rise of CO2 levels in the atmosphere as measured by the Keeling curve shows no signs of slowing down. Most international reduction targets set since 1992 have been missed, and the recent fossil fuel shortages in 2022 have shown a very limited willingness of societies to accept changes imposed by external influence and regulations.

All this happened despite that climate change communication has been frequent and outspoken:

• Climate change impacts are already being felt around the world.
• Increased economic and social damage from weather-related phenomena is regularly communicated through media;
• End-game consequences of climate change (drowning cities, desertification, massive heat waves) are apocalyptical for some areas, with direct threats to life and well-being;
• Measures to mitigate climate change are known.
• Regulatory requirements have been raised, which require countries, companies and individuals to adapt their decisions to the altering framework required for a “carbon-free” future.

 

This paper reviews the communication of climate change in terms of focus (problem, causes, economic impact, solution proposals, benefits) based on web and literature research.

The analysis shows a propensity of communication to be oriented towards technical terms (causes), as well as towards problems (impact and doomsday scenarios), and a lack of orientation towards solutions and benefits. The paper propose a more fruitful path through the employment of more solution oriented communication.

The paper also shows that consumers as individuals can have direct influence on the extent of climate change through their consumption and behavioural patterns, and therefore need not to wait for, or be dependent on, political decisions to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The paper concludes with some proposals on how to shape future communication on climate change with in the meteorological community and how to address different stakeholder groups.