Communicating the climate emergency

There are different ways of communicating about the climate emergency:

• Keep it simple when you talk about the climate emergency, don’t use jargon or expressions that are too complicated for the public;
• Stay positive in your communications, and don’t focus on disasters and dangers;
• Present wider benefits and immediate results, if possible.

Cities need to engage people through positivity to inspire them, while being honest about the problems to be solved and proposing solutions:

• Link your action message to the daily lives of your audience in a practical, easy-to-implement way;
• Adding visual elements such as photos or infographics makes your campaigns more interesting and keeps your audience interested;
• Strike a balance between emotional messages and analytical information.

When you communicate about the climate, you run the risk of facing an audience that is difficult to convince: the climate deniers and those who take the wait-and-see approach. Here’s how to communicate with the most sceptical:

• Don’t assume that the public has mastered the jargon;
• Adapt your approach to different audiences;
• Put the problem in the context of people’s personal lives;
• Talk about the advantages of climate action before discussing its disadvantages;
• Set an example, show what’s possible;
• Highlight the successes achieved so far and allow people to see beyond the promises of action;
• Make it easy to take the initiative.

Here are a few tips on how to recognise and avoid misinformation:

• Always check the source, the domain name of the website and beware of sites ending in “.com.co” and “.lo”;
• Check the content carefully before sharing;
• Check the author to make sure it is a credible and expert source on the subject;
• Use fact-checking sites to verify the information presented, such as FactCheck.org and Politifact;
• Be wary of writing click-bait headlines or headlines that are too sensational; instead, keep them measured and informative.