Climate Change Communication Research Articles

Climate change awareness and information utilisation and dissemination in rural areas of Nsanje district

Background: Climate information communication is the heart of climate service delivery which provide knowledge to help guide individuals and other stakeholders to make climate smart decisions. Therefore, this study explored awareness, utilization and dissemination of climate information in rural areas of Nsanje district. Methods: The study used both quantitative and qualitative research design that does not involve the designing of an experiment. This focuses much on the descriptive research design. The advantage of using this research design in this study was that the participants’ accuracy was clearly depicted. Finding: The results showed that 63 percent of the people in rural areas access climate information through radio and 33 percent do not use it at all. Multinomial logistic regression indicate that floods and crop pests are significant predictors of the location of an individual whether lives in flood prone area or not with p-values of 0.02 and 0.04 respectively, and this shows that people understand climate change based on the impacts felt. This also shows that crop pests are more prevalent in flood prone zones. Conclusion: The study concluded that there is a need to adopt climate communication channels that are more interactive and recruit more extension workers who are agents to promote the use of climate information. Novelty/Originality of this article: This study proposes developing a community-based interactive climate communication model that integrates mobile technology and local extension worker networks to improve the accessibility and understanding of climate information in rural areas.

Connecting audiences with climate change: Towards humanised and action-focused data interactions

This paper investigates the relationship between design research and humancomputer interaction (HCI) in the context of climate change communication and engagement. We discuss current practices in climate change communication and the decrease in concern and engagement caused by “crisis fatigue”. Through Research through Design (RtD), we set out to investigate data humanism and how users react to climate change data, testing approaches to improve engagement. With this purpose, we designed and evaluated Finding Arcadia, an interactive data story that uses data humanism to shift the dialogue from crisis-focused to action-focused. One study with the original IMF visualisations (N = 17) and two studies in public spaces (N = 12 and N = 64) point to the contextualization of the data and presenting actionable solutions helping in engaging users with climate change issues; help in creating solution-focused narratives and interpreting and relating with climate data. From these results, we derive insights for designing empowering interactive data visualizations for resilient climate change engagement.

The role of emotions in climate change communication: Examining the effects of strategy and issue framing on emotional responses and online climate action intentions

The way in which climate change-related information is framed can influence not only cognitive outcomes but also emotional responses. This web-based experiment (n = 331) investigated the effects of strategy framing and issue framing on emotions and online climate action intentions in the context of climate relationship between China and the United States. Results indicated that strategy framing increased negative emotions (i.e., anxiety and anger), whereas issue framing triggered more positive emotions (i.e., pride and excitement). No significant difference was observed regarding climate action intentions between two groups. Additionally, anxiety and anger mediated the effects of message framing on online climate action intentions. Habitual worry about climate change and attitude toward China-U.S. climate collaboration moderated the effects of strategy framing and issue framing on discrete emotions. The findings offer theoretical insights regarding emotional responses to strategy framing and practical implications on climate communication.

Place-Based Arts Engagement and Learning Histories: An Effective Tool for Climate Action

ABSTRACT Artistic works informed by the global climate emergency are now common. Yet research typically focuses on the role of art in climate communication, rather than evaluating opportunities for large-scale public art to drive climate action and behavioral change amongst audiences. Indeed, arts, culture, and heritage are poorly integrated into Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) even though understanding whether, and how, art drives community engagement with climate issues is crucial for pursuing meaningful adaptation and resilience strategies. This paper addresses these research gaps, drawing on the evaluation of FloodLights, a series of multimedia art installations exploring experiences of living with water past/present/future in Kingston-Upon-Hull, UK, shown in October 2021. Key findings demonstrate that FloodLights empowered audience members to engage in climate and water action. Emotional responses to the installations drove engagement amongst audience members and inspired behavior change. Feedback from respondents demonstrates specific ways in which increased awareness of water and flooding issues is coupled with tangible connections to family and community. We demonstrate that arts-based interventions are effective in raising climate awareness and changing behaviors, and demonstrate that local communities have profound connections to their watery histories and identities, driving even greater impact in the future.

Exploring Climate Change Communication in Afghanistan on the X Platform over the Last Six Months of 2024

Social media has emerged as an accessible communication tool for mass audiences worldwide. These new platforms are widely used in Afghanistan for various purposes. Given Afghanistan's high vulnerability to climate change impacts, the country requires effective public awareness and communication strategies across both traditional and new media. To inform policymaking for collective climate action, there is a need to analyze the content of social media discourse on climate change. The primary aim of this study is to explore climate change communication on the X platform to develop effective policies and strategies for leveraging social media, particularly the X platform, to communicate about climate change impacts in Afghanistan. The study employed a descriptive research design combined with a content analysis approach. The results indicate that the social media discourse revolved around key themes, including climate change impacts, Afghanistan's vulnerability to droughts, flash floods, monsoon rains, and unexpected snowfall, the lack of funding for climate change communication and mitigation efforts, and the disproportionate impact on women. The analysis also found that the total user engagement during the five-month study period reached 424,522 interactions, including reposts, replies, likes, and views. The findings of this study can inform the development of targeted, evidence-based communication strategies and policies to raise public awareness and catalyze collective action on climate change in Afghanistan, leveraging the reach and engagement potential of social media platforms.

Green and Good? Examining Intended and Unintended Effects of Morally Framed Climate Messages

ABSTRACT Based on Moral Foundations Theory, message framing, and the Sacred Values Protection Model, this pre-registered experiment tested the effects of five different moral frames in climate change messages among N = 715 U.S. adults. Contrary to prior research, we did not find evidence that matching a message’s moral frame to individuals’ endorsements of moral foundations enhances intended positive outcomes, including perceived message effectiveness (PME) and policy support. However, a moral frame mismatch did reduce PME. Also contrary to scholarly warnings about potential negative effects of moralized communication, we did not find evidence for unintended consequences of moral frame matching for outgroup perceptions. Political ideology did moderate the effect of moral framing on desired social proximity (i.e. willingness to interact with moral outgroup members) and perceived message effectiveness. Our findings raise questions about the benefits of using moral frames that invoke only one moral foundation in climate change communication.

Instagram as an Arena of Climate Change Communication and Mobilization: A Discourse Network Analysis of COP26

ABSTRACT Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings on climate change are opportunities for social movements and other non-state actors to engage in climate change communication and mobilization. We focus on Instagram as an online arena of climate communication and mobilization during COP26, held in Glasgow. Instagram is a distinct arena for eco-political communication and activism because of its visual focus and generally younger user base. Using a Discourse Network Analysis approach, we analyse 2417 posts to examine relationships and alignments across imagery, discourses, and actors. Instagram serves as a space to articulate critical counter-discourses of climate justice, Indigenous rights, and individual action as a response to perceived failures of COP processes and formal agreements. At the same time, images of celebrities and politicians structure much of the Instagram discourse network. This highlights how Instagram contributes to a celebritization of climate politics, with individual political actors positioned as climate heroes or villains.

Fire as an aesthetic resource in climate change communication: exploring the visual discourse of the California wildfires on Twitter/X

This article uses the case study of the California wildfires of 2020/2021 to examine the visual discourse on fires on social media and investigate how it was harnessed by environmental activists to shape narratives and meanings regarding climate change. The article draws on two datasets scraped from Twitter/X (350 images), i.e. the visual discourse of the California wildfires (250 images) and the visual data of environmental NGOs (100 images). Our findings show that the general visual discourse evokes the impact, risk, and devastation of wildfires. In contrast, in the second visual discourse, civil society deploys fire as an aesthetic resource to communicate danger but also makes an explicit connection between wildfires, climate change and fossil fuel reliance. Hence, our article highlights an urgent challenge in climate crisis communication: how to make an explicit causal link between wildfires and climate change through the use of visual images of fire. This challenge is exacerbated by dramatic and powerful images of fire which dominate social media, yet simultaneously undermine fire’s capacity to communicate blame and links to climate change. This tension is explored throughout the article with fire analysed as a unique site of contestation in the visual communication of climate change.

Opposing positions, dividing interactions, and hostile affect: A systematic review and conceptualization of “online climate change polarization”

AbstractOnline climate change polarization has increasingly received academic interest over time. Online media facilitate and accelerate processes of climate change polarization. Yet, throughout the years, online climate change polarization became a fuzzy concept, holding different meanings in different academic contexts. By reviewing the available evidence, the current article identified three ontological distinctions in online climate change polarization research: (1) focus on different groups that polarize; (2) either investigate the positions, relations, or emotions of actors; and (3) states or processes of polarization. Based on the latter two ontological distinctions, the article reconceptualizes online climate change polarization as a multidimensional phenomenon, by introducing a framework comprising six dimensions of polarization. Accordingly, by identifying gaps in the literature, the article proposes a future research agenda.This article is categorized under: Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Communication Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Perceptions of Climate Change Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Behavior Change and Responses

Humour and climate change: a caustic look through Indian comic strips

ABSTRACT Climate change communication generally comprises disconcerting photography of catastrophes or fearful rhetoric of impending doom that often produce a sense of hopelessness in people. On the other hand, cartoons on climate change combine graphic presentations with humour and try to turn an issue temporally distant, like climate change, into the familiar. Self-identification stimulated by the iconicity of cartoons, along with self-criticism evoked by satire, sarcasm, and humour, help the readers recognise their complicity in the matter. This paper analyses three comic strips published in reputed newspapers in India—Green Humour by Rohan Chakravarty, Ecotism by Ashvini Menon, and The Wildscapes by Deborshee Gogoi – to highlight how cartoons contribute significantly to raising awareness of critical issues like climate change.

A Crisis Like No Other: Understanding and Defeating Global Warming

.: Robert De Saro has written an important book that provides a comprehensive and accurate account of the scientific basis of climate change and the human activities that cause it. More importantly, the author explores in considerable detail how the information about climate change is processed. For example, he discusses how cognitive biases might affect the appreciation of evidence, and therefore either facilitate taking actions to address climate change or divert from doing so. De Saro is an engineer, a scientist, and an astute observer and student of human behavior. His book is thus an important tool for those who wish to communicate effectively about climate change. In fact, his book is itself a model of good communication. De Saro injects humor into the discussion and provides illustrations when they are most needed. He writes with a personal touch, giving the reader a chance to know and trust him. A Crisis Like No Other: Understanding and Defeating Global Warming is an important contribution to the literature on climate change and, in particular, on climate communication, which is most deserving of our attention at this crucial juncture in the history of the world.

Climate Communication with Chinese Youth by Chinese Nongovernmental Organizations: A Case Study of Chinese Weather Enthusiasts on Bilibili

Abstract Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have increasingly played pivotal roles in shaping climate agendas and mobilizing individuals to engage in environmental initiatives. However, the nature of NGOs’ online interaction with users, especially in developing countries, remains largely unexplored. This study focused on the dynamics of engagement between a Chinese NGO, Chinese Weather Enthusiasts (CWE), and Chinese youth on the social media platform of Bilibili. The research comprised two main components. First, named entity recognition was employed to analyze weather-related terms in CWE’s posts on Bilibili and dynamic topic modeling was utilized to uncover shifts in thematic focus. Subsequently, descriptive analysis and negative binomial regression were employed to investigate the correlation between weather types and user engagement metrics. The study unveiled two noteworthy findings: first, CWE posts are closely linked to short-term weather, providing timely content that may meet the public’s demand for climate information. Second, the engagement of Chinese youth users is not affected by extreme weather types. Future research should continue to elucidate strategies that NGOs can employ to enhance online engagement among youth users. Significance Statement This study seeks to contribute to the current literature of climate communication by investigating how NGOs engage with Chinese youth on social media, an area that has received scant attention thus far. Focusing on an influential Chinese climate NGO, CWE, and its interactions with Chinese youth on the social media platform of Bilibili, this research sheds lights on strategies to communicate information related to extreme weather to this demographic. Examining factors that influence online user engagement offers both theoretical insights about the mechanisms of climate communication and practical implications for NGOs and policymakers to mobilize youth for environmental initiatives. The findings also underscore the importance of tailoring climate communication to align with the daily experiences of the target audience and public-centric approaches in climate communication strategies.

To play or not to play, that is the question: an interview study with amateur football coaches on perceptions of pain during sports participation

Amateur football coaches play a key role in preventing, assessing and treating pain among their players, as they are often the first point of contact and may be the main...

The effect of multisector integration communication on empowerment in rural areas

Background: Empowering impoverished communities has been a long-standing endeavor. However, the persistent prevalence of poverty still affects approximately 25 million individuals (BPS, 2023). Nevertheless, the government continues its relentless efforts to minimize the presence of impoverished families. One of the strategies employed is the implementation of the Family Hope Program (PKH). PKH stands as a program that has effectively fulfilled its mission. Various research studies have been conducted to comprehend the processes, mechanisms, impacts, and societal implications. However, research exploring the cross-sectoral communication aspects, elaborating on the involvement of stakeholders and PKH implementers spanning multiple institutions, remains lacking. Purpose: This research aims to measure the level of influence of multi-sectoral integration communication on the performance of individual PKH implementers. Methods: The employed methodology is an explanatory survey. The surveyed population comprises civil servants engaged in PKH. The population size consists of 80 individuals. Probability sampling is utilized as the sampling technique, with a sample size of 44 respondents, determined using the Slovin method. Hypothesis testing employs Path Analysis. Results: The research findings indicate a significant influence of cross-sectoral communication factors, encompassing organizational member perceptions, organizational strategies, communication climate, media quality, information accessibility, information dissemination, information accuracy, and organizational culture, on the performance of individual PKH implementers. Conclusion: Organizational member performance emerges as a critical aspect for the success of PKH implementation. The research results demonstrate that this performance is influenced by several factors, including information accessibility, media quality, information accuracy, organizational communication climate, organizational culture, information dissemination, and organizational strategies in the execution of the PKH program. Implications: The success of PKH is contingent upon the performance of individual members from collaborating institutions. Enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of individual performance factors can be achieved by synergizing with cross-sectoral communication components.

Socio-economic determinants of climate change perception in the uMkhanyakude district of Kwazulu-Natal province, South Africa

Climate change is an emerging stressor that impacts negatively on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in developing countries. This study assessed the socio-economic determinants of climate change perception in the uMkhanyakude district in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Assessment of the determinants of climate change perception is imperative in the design for effective climate change communication and policy formulation at the country and regional level. A stratified random sampling procedure was used to collect data from a sample of 400 smallholder farmers. A binary logistic regression model was used to analyse the determinants of climate change perception. Descriptive statistics revealed that 95.5% of the sampled farmers perceived climate change in the study area. Farmers perceived long term increases in temperatures and a decrease in rainfall. The results of the binary logistic regression revealed that climate change perception is influenced by the age of the household head, adult equivalents in the household, land size, involvement in farmers’ organisations, access to irrigation, and level of education. Policies aimed at addressing the impacts of climate change should place an emphasis on dealing with drought, which has been a prominent phenomenon in the study area and in the Southern African region. In addition, it is recommended that government policies geared toward the support of extensive educational programmes should consider the determinants of climate change perception.

A Pragmatic Presupposition Analysis in Sir David Attenborough’s Climate Change Speeches

Climate change is a critical global issue that requires effective communication and public engagement to drive necessary actions and policy changes. Despite the critical importance of climate change communication, this topic has been limited in its coverage within discourse analysis research, making this study’s investigation particularly significant. This study aims to examine the communication strategies used by a prominent public figure, namely Sir David Attenborough, in addressing climate change issues. To achieve that, this study conducts a qualitative analysis of Sir David Attenborough’s discourse on climate change, with a specific focus on the role of presuppositions in framing his communication strategies. Through analyzing a corpus of his public speeches, this investigation identifies and categorizes the presuppositional triggers employed by Attenborough, particularly those that elicit existential presuppositions triggered by definite descriptions (78% of observed triggers) and structural presuppositions such as restrictive relative clauses (14% of observed triggers). This analysis provides insights into how Attenborough effectively conveys notions of ownership, shared responsibility, and inspires action through strategic use of presuppositions. Examining the persuasive strategies of a prominent public figure, this study makes a valuable contribution to the field and future investigations on climate change communication.

Communication climate and organisational trust to readiness for change in higher education

Communication climate and organisational trust to readiness for change in higher education

Computational methods for climate change frame analysis: Techniques, critiques, and cautious ways forward

AbstractFrame analysis is a popular methodological paradigm to investigate how climate change is reported in the media, how it is negotiated by political actors, and perceived by publics. Its scope of application extends across various academic disciplines and transcends traditional boundaries of research such as those between quantitative and qualitative methods. Recent transformations of the media landscape have a strong influence on how frame analysis is conducted and how it is used to investigate climate change communication. Online data mining and computational methods have now become increasingly mainstream to investigate discursive elements in online media. Scholars have highlighted the potential, but also the risks associated with sophisticated computational methods, such as machine learning, increasingly used in the context of frame analysis. This advanced review gathers the scientific literature on computational frame analysis for analyzing climate change communication and discusses ways of dealing with associated risks and caveats by incorporating ideas from Science & Technology Studies (STS) and other stances of critical scholarship. Recommended ways forward include combining methods, practicing theoretical interdisciplinarity, infrastructuring reflexivity in research constellations, and embracing transparency, documentation, and accessibility of methods.This article is categorized under: The Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge > Sociology/Anthropology of Climate Knowledge Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Communication Climate, History, Society, Culture > Technological Aspects and Ideas

Employee Involvement in Internal Communication Activities PT. Pertamina Hulu Energi

Employee involvement is important for a company, where it shows how responsive employees are to the programs created by the company for its employees. How responsive employees are to an activity held by the company's internal communications is also a good record for the internal communications department. This research aims to examine employee involvement at PT. Pertamina Hulu Energiin programs held by the company's internal communications. The research was conducted using descriptive quantitative methods by distributing questionnaires to 470 employees spread throughout Indonesia and also from international branches. The research results show that employee involvement in activities held by the internal organization is very necessary to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of these activities. Communication channels also play a role in the effectiveness of delivering messages to reach employees. How to ensure that messages are well received by employees also requires a good strategy. By integrating internal communications strategies with employee engagement factors such as a participative culture, a supportive communications climate, and the quality of information flow, organizations can build a solid framework that strengthens consistency and synergy between internal communications and employee engagement.

The effects of communicating climate change threat: mobilizing anger and authoritarian affect displacement

ABSTRACT Research on climate change communication has made important contributions to our understanding of how to effectively inform and mobilize the public for climate action and yet open questions remain, not least because existing results are at times inconclusive or incomplete. The climate crisis poses an existential threat. But what effect does communicating that threat have? To what degree can communicating the threat invoke anger and how does anger interact with individual values predispositions? In this study, we conducted a survey experiment (N = 570) to better understand effects of communicating climate change threat. We find that exposure to climate change threat makes people angrier, and anger makes them more willing to act on climate change mitigation, confirming previous findings. However, our study adds a novel insight, the findings do not apply to people with authoritarian predispositions. They display lower levels of anger and willingness to act, while exposure to climate change threat results in increased authoritarian attitudes. This suggests that climate change threat can lead to affect displacement in people with authoritarian predispositions, where anger (typically directed at those in power, who have failed to tackle climate change) is redirected at non-conforming groups.