Everyone loves a TED Talk. Here’s one of our favorites:
The topic of climate change seems boring, technical and not relevant for the majority of people. And without understanding how it affects us as personally, in our own neighborhoods, people are not inspired to take action. The solution, according to Communications Specialist and Environmental Advocate John Marshall, is improving how we talk about climate change.
Marshall says we should start with the individual, not the issue. Even the words “climate change” don’t signify much to people. He gives the example of the planet warming 2 degrees Celsius in 50 years. To most people that doesn’t sound too bad.
When people are asked to explain climate change, many think it has something to do with the hole in the ozone layer. Marshall says, “More than four in 10 Americans think the ozone hole actually causes global warming. And so many of them remember and understand so much about ozone depletion. Why is that? Because it's a hole, it's a layer. People can see it, imagine it, relate to it. It uses a simple metaphor.”
To improve climate change communications Marshall argues, first we must tell the story of climate change using language and imagery that is understandable. He tells the climate change story this way:
“Humans have been on Earth for about 300,000 years, but we've only started polluting like this in about the last 60. Our pollution stays in the air for thousands of years, creating a thickening blanket that traps heat in the atmosphere. That heat causes stronger hurricanes, bigger fires, more frequent floods and the extinction of thousands of species. But there's good news. To stop the pollution blanket, we just have to stop polluting. “
Along with telling the story in new ways, Marshall says we need to use simpler, more vivid language that connects the concept to people’s lives. Instead of “warming”, he says to use “overheating.” Instead of “climate”, talk about “extreme weather”, instead of “clean energy”, say “cheap energy.” In the U.S. he says we should use degrees Fahrenheit not Celsius because it doubles the severity.
Second, Marshall argues that we need to make climate change personal and individual. Climate change is affecting millions of Americans already. People have been displaced due to flooding and wildfires. Saying to someone “stop my flooding” is much more personal than “getting to net zero emissions.” Marshall says we don’t need better policy descriptions, but more personal connections.
The third key to better climate communications is to show how climate change is an issue for people “like me.” People belong to different social groups and have identities based on their backgrounds, families, where they live, their job, etc. They may not see themselves as “environmentalists” or “climate change activists” and don’t relate to the messages from those groups. But they may be worried about how their way of life is changing or how a warmer planet will affect their children. Climate messengers need to come from the communities they represent. People will only take notice when it matters to them.
It’s time to meet the communications challenge of letting all 8 billion humans know what’s happening to our planet. Only then will we have the collective will to take climate action.