Insights from the Field: How North Carolina Local Government Climate Communications Compare to IPCC Guidelines

Abstract

As climate change increasingly threatens the United States, many local governments are implementing programs in response, helping to reduce their communities' contributions to climate change and enhancing their resilience to climate impacts. The purpose of this study is to understand how local governments in North Carolina communicate with residents about their climate change programming. Twelve local government sustainability employees participated in interviews about how they communicated with and received input from residents about such programs. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed using Atlas.ti 9, and communications approaches were compared to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommendations. Participants' communications could be characterized as applying some of the IPCC recommendations, and findings suggest opportunities for greater adoption of IPCC strategies in local government communication about climate programs. The Covid-19 pandemic was primarily described as a barrier to communicating about climate programs but also was credited as creating an opportunity for enhanced connections in one community. Additionally, participants described misconceptions about climate change programming expressed by residents, such as initiatives being perceived as impractical when they were in fact feasible.