We know first-hand from our work that it has never been tougher to cut through the noise & disinformation around climate change.
When fake news and climate scepticism are rife, how can communications make a difference in the fight against climate change?
To find out, we stepped away from our laptops and went into the field. We recruited a group of climate deniers as well as delayers – those who acknowledge the issue but downplay its severity – delving into the messages and spokespeople that resonate with them, and why. And we supplemented this by surveying a representative sample of consumers to understand wider trends.
The results are fascinating, worrying, even enraging – yet also illuminating.
We’ve outlined the main findings in our new report, Re-thinking Climate Communications. Read the report in full here:
25% of UK adults are either climate deniers...
or delayers – those that acknowledge the issue but downplay its urgency and importance. That’s 17 million people.
56% of people can’t confidently explain what Net Zero means...
People find the topic overwhelming, confusing and complex – especially when it comes to the science.
42% of the public said they feel like they’re being lectured about climate change...
and our focus group agreed. There were calls for more positive, constructive messaging around the climate crisis and a sense that too much doom and gloom is contributing to people feeling exhausted, powerless and disengaged.
Energy prices, the cost of living crisis and Brexit...
were all issues cited by our panel that they felt were more important than climate change, proving the issue is very much ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
Watch the debate
Check out our panel discussion with BBC presenter Ade Adepitan, environmental psychologist Prof. Lorraine Whitmarsh, Carbon Brief’s Dr. Simon Evans and climate activist Clover Hogan.
Need support communicating about climate?
Get in touch to see how we can help.