Climate Change Communication

Abstract

Effective climate change communication is a central concern for geographers and others wishing to convey the science and impacts of climate change to lay publics, policymakers, and managers, and to engage in meaningful discourse on response options. The interdisciplinary field of climate change communication has grown rapidly since the early 2000s, with major research foci on messaging, language, and imagery; messengers; communication channels; the media; and audience segmentation. As the science of climate change moved its primary focus from detection and attribution of observed changes to improvements in climate models, to climate change impacts, vulnerabilities, and responses options, the foci in communication shifted. While the concerns early on were on conveying the physical science of climate change, related uncertainties, and mitigation options, more recent emphasis is on engaging the public on impacts and adaptation. The widening disconnect between the growing scientific consensus on the reality, human causation, and urgency of climate change on the one hand and the lagging societal response on the other remains a persistent challenge for climate change communication, particularly in North America and Australia.