Communicating for Climate Action

How can your organization talk about the climate crisis in a way that does not leave people despairing, but rather extremely motivated to take the big actions necessary to meaningfully address it? Learn how the Lab team has distilled insights from hundreds of social science research papers, field experiments, and insights from across the climate advocacy community into this guide for effective climate communication. Show your stakeholders and team how you can get to the next level with these evidence-based tactics. Download the most recent version of this slidedeck here.

For more information on some particular audiences, see what we have collected here or in our Resource Library.

Additional tools and resources to support your work:

9 Evidence-Based Insights for Action-Taking
Tipsheet: 9 Evidence-Based Insights for Action-Taking
Summarized insights on how to drive climate actions among supporters
7 Top Evidence-Based Climate Communications Tips
Tipsheet: 7 Top Evidence-Based Climate Communications Tips
Quick tipsheet with climate messaging advice based on social science research
Developing an Audience-Centered Communications Strategy
Worksheet: Developing an Audience-Centered Communications Strategy
Step-by-step guide on developing a communications plan for a campaign
Crafting Powerful Climate Narratives
Webinar: Crafting Powerful Climate Narratives
Learn how to move past climate messaging to communicating a larger vision (Part 1 of our Fall 2020 communications series)
Designing an evidence-based communications strategy
Webinar: Designing an evidence-based communications strategy
Applying an evidence-based framework to communications planning (Part 2 of our Fall 2020 communications series)
Audience-centered climate messages
Webinar: Audience-centered climate messages
Why understanding our audience matters for effective communication (Part 3 of our Fall 2020 communications series)
What No One Told You: Keys to Communicating on Climate
Webinar: Lab 101 Webinar | What No One Told You: Keys to Communicating on Climate
A good overview on the basics of climate communication
 
Check out more content on this topic in our Resource Library!
Key Points
  • Articulate an inspiring, visionary narrative: What is the world you want to create?
  • Identify and understand your key audience(s): Who are they and what makes them tick?
  • Match your audience to credible messengers: Consider expertise and relateability.
  • Close "consensus gap” to mitigate polarization: Scientific consensus is a gateway belief for climate action.
  • "Inoculate" audiences against opposition arguments and misinformation: Expose degenerate arguments.
  • Balance magnitude, urgency of crisis with hope, courage: Arouse powerful emotions, and channel them.
  • Build people’s sense of efficacy: There's power in belief.
  • Leverage the power of social norms: Let folks know that they're not alone.
  • Tap into existing identities and reinforce activist identity: Remind people why they should care and take action.
  • Tell compelling, culturally-relevant stories: Use the power of narrative.
  • Message frames can make a difference: Speak to your audiences' concerns and aspirations.
  • Pick an effective mode of contact: Meet your audiences where they are.
  • Test assumptions + new approaches: There's always room to try new things, as long as you also measure impact.