Best Practices for Communicating about the Climate Crisis
Keep it local. Focusing on bringing local solutions. You can lean into community pride to help motivate community action. And while climate change may have global impacts, emphasizing local climate impacts and benefits of local policies will resonate with more people, and feel more approachable/doable.
Stay focused on solutions. While the consequences of climate change are dire, focusing too much on how bad things could get tends to make people feel overwhelmed, hopeless and cynical â which doesnât help them get or stay involved. Try not to give more than 1 or 2 examples of local consequences of environmental issues, then dive into how this work provides solutions.
Include your audience. Instead of using âIâ or âyouâ, talk about what âweâ need to do to turn things around. This includes using âweâ when youâre talking about the government, when appropriate - after all, the government is meant to be for and of our communities.
Lean into moral values. Most people agree that we have a moral responsibility to protect our environmentâs health, stability and safety for future generations, so donât be afraid to talk about that or other values that resonate with you about this work.
Focus on tangible gains. Things like âthe economyâ are important, but they donât feel as immediate as combating rising costs, protecting their and their neighbors' health, and saving money. Paint them a picture of the prosperous, stable, livable city we can create.
Project a can-do attitude. A lot of people are feeling let down by leadership at all levels, and feeling hopeless and helpless about making change. So, itâs important that you show that you and others are out here willing to really do the work - and thereâs room for them to join in. Also, be sure to talk about successes.
Donât waste time on opponents. We can't get everybody on our side. However, there are enough people that are excited about the prospect of living in a safe, sustainable community, where everyone has clean air to breathe/water to drink and a family-sustaining job that we don't need to convert opponents.
Encourage investment. Rather than framing the changes we want in terms of the drudgery of having to adapt to a bad situation, try to build excitement in the possibilities we can invest in - together. Everyone likes to feel theyâre getting in on an exciting, cutting edge investment. Relatedly, be wary of statements that make people feel like theyâre going to lose, rather than gain, options. Remind people that our current systems are not only unhealthy, dirty, and dangerous - theyâre also ineffective.
Create immediate avenues for action. Once youâve built up some excitement about what we can do, give people an immediate step they can take to help. Give that positive energy somewhere to go and show them how good it can feel to get involved.
Focus on what you want people to do, not what you want them to stop doing. This helps people envision change, and makes them less nervous.
Communicate respect. Keep away from stereotypes and harmful words. And when you talk about other people, be careful not to put words in their mouths.
Remember, you're not just combating ignorance, you're combating hopelessness, helplessness, and burnout!
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