Four Human
Stories: A Climate Storytelling Framework Built for Broader Audiences.
Not every climate story needs to feel like a “climate” story.
If we want to engage a wider audience on climate change, we have to be able to reach beyond the echo chamber of the already-converted.
Our goal in assembling this portfolio of simple, personal stories about climate change, clean energy, and planet-warming pollution is to shatter the template of what a narrow, wonky climate story sounds like.
- Each one is expressed in plain language
- Each one appeals to different human values
- Each tackles a different problem people already think about
- Each solves for a different basic need
To ensure we’re broadening our reach, each of the messages below has specifically been tested to ensure they connect with a global audience that identifies as ideologically “center-right.” This group comprises about 60% of the population in our data set, and includes everyone who identifies as either moderate or somewhat conservative ideologically.
What Are the Most Effective Climate Change Messages?
To succeed, we will have to reach beyond the climate bubble. Our work identified four climate stories that can engage new messengers, show up in new moments, and reach people where they are across media channels.
Click the links below to explore the research and get insights on bringing these stories to life.
Love
Later is too late to protect the people and places you love.
Stories about how extreme weather already harms the things we care about.
Health
The less we rely on chemicals like oil, gas, and methane, the better.
Stories about how oil & gas chemicals are everywhere, unnatural, and unhealthy
Money
It’s not fair that everyday people pay the high cost of climate change.
Stories about the unfair, unbearable financial cost of a changing climate.
Power
Unlimited energy sets you free from limited choice, limited supply, and high prices.
Stories about the self-reliance, security, and affordability that come from clean energy.
Why Does a Climate Messaging Portfolio Work?
If we tell these new kinds of climate stories, we end up with messages that work for…
More messengers
engage new voices, who don’t look or feel like “climate” activists
More moments
always have the right story for the job, whatever is happening in the world
More channels
spread to new communities, platforms, and interest groups
More supporters
more, better messages in new places leads to more supporters
How Can Climate Messaging Win Over New Audiences?
Ultimately, the path forward requires a fundamental shift from the jargon and limiting language of the past toward narratives that prioritize human values and real-world relevance. By grounding our message in people’s everyday material concerns and costs, we can turn climate change into a top citizen priority and motivate leaders toward the bold actions we so urgently need.