Ten Key Principles: How to Communicate Climate Change for Effective Public Engagement

Abstract

This report summarises up-to-date social science evidence on climate communication for effective public engagement. It presents ten key principles that may inform communication activities. At the heart of them is the following insight: People do not form their attitudes or take action as a result primarily of weighing up expert information and making rational cost-benefit calculations. Instead, climate communication has to connect with people at the level of values and emotions.

Two aspects seem to be of special importance: First, climate communication needs to focus more on effectively speaking to people who have up to now not been properly addressed by climate communications, but who are vitally important to build broad public engagement. Second, climate communication has to support a shift from concern to agency, where high levels of climate risk perception turn into pro-climate individual and collective action.

For an overview, the ten key principles are:

How to open the door:
1. Connect with people’s values
2. Support trusted messengers
3. Test, research, and don’t trust your own instincts

How to reach people’s hearts and minds:
4. Bring climate home – highlighting visions & solutions
5. Use frames and narratives in a considered way
6. Tell powerful stories and use effective imagery
7. Provide accurate information and be careful communicating uncertainty

How to turn concern into action:
8. Provide spaces for interaction
9. Make climate action an issue of social belonging
10. Offer possibilities for meaningful personal action

Keywords: Climate change, energy transition, climate action, climate communication, public engagement, science communication

JEL Classification: Q01, Q40, Q54, Q57, I20