Making Progress Through Disagreement: Meeting Residents Where They Are on Climate Change

Abstract

Abstract While Americans do not agree about climate change, what to do to overcome this disagreement is a topic of debate. Climate communications researchers warn that messaging must overcome the challenges of communicating scientific information to lay audiences, the uncertainty of scientific predictions, and the massive scale of climate change to be effective at mobilizing a population. Such work focuses on “top-down” communication of what the scientific reality of climate change requires of citizens: how to get them in line with what needs to happen to prevent catastrophic change. In this article, I document how nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based climate organizations (CBOs) make progress on climate action by dialoguing with their constituents and building on preexisting community connections. I argue that, instead of focusing on achieving climate consensus, these organizations rely on narratives around the local experience of environmental disruption to mobilize communities.