Climate Fiction: A Promising Way of Communicating Climate Change with the General Public

Abstract

Since anthropogenic climate change was first noticed in the late 1980s, despite scientists’ consensus on its urgency and seriousness with strong evidence, climate risk is still a tough issue for the public to engage with due to its ambiguity, invisibility and uncertainty. This article reviews the emotive and empathetic role of climate fiction (cli-fi) in climate change communication, using the precautionary principle of relevance to sustainable development to discuss how cli-fi has influenced the way people feel and think about climate change and further foster pro-environmental attitudes and opinions. Through discussing the effectiveness of cli-fi as a communication tool, I argue that cli-fi allows readers to visualise the implications of climate change on themselves and triggers their empathetic and emotional responses, especially negative emotions. Those emotions, on the one hand, could arouse a wider and deeper climate consciousness by inspiring audiences to consider previously unnoticed subjects; on the other hand, could facilitate affective engagement and the perceived need for action.