This report provides local climate advocates across civil society as well as government, media and business with advice on how to effectively engage their audiences with climate change. This work is the result of a series of values-based focus groups (known as narrative workshops, a peer-reviewed research model we’ve developed over the past decade), which we trained our national partners...
What we say about climate change and how we say it matters. It affects how people think, feel and act. The right story can build the public appetite needed to catalyse change. Decades of research and experience shows how stories can shift how people think and feel. They can make important actions feel right, normal and inevitable. Intentionally changing the...
The world has changed and climate advocates are having to change with it, adapting plans and campaigns to a profoundly new external environment. Timing and sensitivity are paramount in communicating climate change during Covid-19 – otherwise the climate sector risks undermining climate action for the long term. So what does the evidence say about how to engage people on climate...
There is currently a lack of research into communicating the concept of net zero and why it is needed, but existing insights on climate change communication suggest the phrase net zero is a technical one that will not resonate well with the public. The purpose of this report is to test these assumptions, and make recommendations on the best ways...
In this report we explore additional language that speaks to the values and identities of different audiences within Alberta. The report includes narratives tailored to each audience – what communicators call “sub-narratives”. The sub-narratives are intended to sit within the larger meta- narrative from Report I, giving the latter greater nuance and speci c meaning.
This guide is intended to provide practical guidance for climate and energy communicators about what language works well and – crucially – what language might pose an obstacle for communicating with any specific group. This first volume is concerned with finding the language that works best across Albertan society by helping to find common ground across very different positions. This...
Effective communications requires reflecting and responding to different audiences, and tailoring messaging to the values of each audience. NGOs and financiers have different values and therefore use different narratives, often with entirely different vocabularies. Policymakers – especially those in government and multilateral development agencies – tend to sit between the two sectors, adopting some of the NGO concerns about social...
A large body of research shows that people need to understand climate change as a narrative, containing their own language and shaped by their own values and experience. Most climate change language however is dry, technical or too based in the campaign culture of the Global North. To date, there has been very little research into effective climate change communications...
Global Narratives is a pioneering initiative launched jointly by Climate Outreach and Climate Action Network International (CAN-I) to test and develop climate change messaging and narratives. It pilots a new model of cooperative design that avoids the high cost of qualitative research by training national partners to conduct research themselves with their own audiences based on Climate Outreach’s Narrative Workshop...
This initial briefing paper summarises research and expertise on public communication of drought risks in a changing climate. We explore the difficulties involved in building understanding and engagement with the sometimes complex issues surrounding climate change and drought in the UK. The report outlines how communicators can best respond to these challenges. These lessons are intended to support delivery of...
