How to Talk About Climate Change and Climate Solutions:
Data-Driven Communication Guide
Learn why talking about climate change matters, what makes conversations effective, and how to communicate with clarity and confidence to inspire action
We see solving climate change as a narrative problem. We know the science, we have the policies, but so far we have failed to educate, inspire, and motivate people to demand solutions.
This starts with both talking about climate change more and improving the narratives used to talk about it. No one acts if it doesn’t feel important, and it doesn’t feel important if no one is talking about it.
Potential Energy Coalition has developed deep, data-driven expertise on how people think about climate change and the solutions needed to address it — in the United States and around the world. Our work involves extensive research in more than 23 countries with over 4 billion ads served and measured, 170 surveys conducted across a range of climate issues, and over 3,000 hours of individual input and feedback provided through interviews and focus groups.
Our research proves that the right framing and messaging can be the difference-maker in motivating people to support climate solutions.
In this guide, you’ll learn the core principles of effective climate communication, the key messages people need to hear, and how to talk to different audiences about climate change.
In this article
What Are the Core Principles of Effective Climate Communication?
Focus on materiality over morality (make the consequences concrete and current)
- Climate change can’t just feel like a cause. It has to feel like a cost: a financial, emotional, personal cost people are paying today and every day.
- Messages that most effectively increase support for clean energy solutions directly highlight tangible consequences.
- Talk about today’s impact, today’s costs, and today’s fears, like insurance rates, energy prices, and local disasters.
- 68% of the US, including over 80% in at-risk areas, fear losing their insurance.
- Messaging linking the insurance crisis and climate change grows the size of support for climate solutions by 13%, one of the most effective messages there is.
- Emphasize consequences and pair them with facts showing it’s already getting worse. This proves more effective than projections of future harm.
- For example: “Due to the changing climate, 95% of American homeowners have seen insurance price increases.”
- For localized, real-time examples of climate impacts, check out Climate Central.
Talk like a human
- Most climate communication feels too abstract and complex for the general public. It’s not speaking to what is relevant and important to them.
- If you’re explaining, you’re losing. Instead of using terms people don’t understand, use messaging and narratives that connect with people.
- Read our Talk Like a Human communications guide to learn more.
Always find the human angles and stories
- People care about people, not theoreticals. Tell real stories about real people experiencing harm.
- Avoid abstract concepts like economic competitiveness and green jobs.
- To learn more, read our That’s Interesting newsletter issue: Why human stories always win.
Don’t be afraid to focus on preparation in addition to mitigation
- Advocating for disaster readiness doesn’t detract from mitigation goals – in fact, it makes climate impacts real.
- Read our That’s Interesting newsletter issue The moral hazard of disaster preparation messaging: fact or fiction? to learn more.
What Key Narrative Frames Get People to Support Climate Solutions?
Material over moral
- The language of everyday costs and consequences for families outperforms framing climate as a social or moral imperative. Shift from “shoulds,” “musts,” and “sacrifices” to current and material harms.
Protect what you love:
- Our research shows that “protecting the people and places we love” continues to be the most motivating “why” for building support for climate solutions.
- Our Later is Too Late global report, which surveyed nearly 60,000 people across 23 countries, found that this narrative outperformed messages focused on economic opportunity, fighting injustice, improving health, or even preventing extreme weather.
- The message of generational urgency moved people across age groups, levels of education, income, and ideology. This message also proved 12 times more effective at driving support than messaging centered around economic growth.
Clean energy as a cost saver, not a cost tradeoff
- The price of solar has dropped significantly and it’s widely considered the cheapest energy on the market.
- Most Americans believe clean energy costs the same as or less than energy from fossil fuels, and expect the cost advantages of clean to grow over time.
- Americans are more likely to view clean energy as affordable if they realize it’s available locally and offers an unlimited supply.
- Historically, messages have focused on how new, innovative, and cutting-edge clean energy is. To drive affordability perceptions, it’s actually more effective to position clean energy as a mature technology that’s been around for decades and has been proven and improved over time.
- Read our The Cheaper, Better Choice: Messaging clean energy in a cost-of-living crisis report to learn more.
How to Talk to Different Audiences About Climate Change
Different audiences have different priorities and values, so messages need to be tailored to increase impact.
Talking to the general public about climate change
- Skip the jargon: Use clear and vivid language instead of technical terms.
- You can say: “More and more destructive weather is already hurting the people and places we love.”
- Keep it local: We care about what we experience. Rather than focusing on global consequences, talk about what’s happening closer at home. Sharing local pride in progress is one of the most effective ways to engage people.
- Accompany with a consequence: Within five words of saying the term climate change, add an actual felt consequence.
- For example “Climate change is causing extreme fires” or “Climate change is reducing crop yields and raising food prices.”
- Don’t settle for “extreme heat” when you could say “deadly heat” or “more severe storms” when you could say “more destructive storms”
- Read our Unnatural disasters: communication guide to learn more
Talking to skeptical or resistant audiences about climate change
- Our research shows that despite rising polarization and misinformation, we can move audiences with the right messaging and information.
- Leverage the freedom frame: people want more choices, access, opportunity. Never say ban or mandate.
- Use language that appeals equally to conservative and progressive values. Simply saying “it’s not political” immediately lowers people’s defenses.
- When we simply add the word “nonpartisan” to a message, we see a significant uptick in engagement.
Frames that appeal broadly:
- Protect my community
- Conservation and preservation
- Safe and clean energy
Frames that are narrower:
- Save the planet
- Sacrifice
- Green
Talking to kids, friends, and family about climate change
- Make sure to connect the issue of climate change to what the people in your life care about. Use easy-to-understand language instead of technical terms.
- Science Moms, a nonpartisan group of climate scientists who are also moms working to demystify climate change, has a useful guide on how to talk about climate change with children, friends, families, and strangers.
How businesses can talk to consumers and investors about climate change
When you say ESG,
U.S. consumers respond with:
“I think ESG is the average
blood sugar level.”
“I never heard this,
Easy So Grateful?”
“Excellent Service Goal.”
“Eggs, Sausage, Grits.”
.
“Established Social Government.”
When you say responsible business,
ESG skeptics respond with:
“Taking care of customers
AND making profits.”
“Respecting the environment
AND making a profit.”
“Making an honest profit.”
“Making money while taking care of employees and customers.”
“For profits AND communities.”
- The key to appealing to the broadest set of stakeholders is to frame climate initiatives and investments around materiality — not morality. In other words, businesses invest in climate-related efforts not just because they’re good, but because they’re good for business.
- The term “ESG,” or environmental, social, and governance, raises confusion and negative political connotations. Instead, say “responsible business” when talking about climate issues.
- Use terms relevant to stakeholders whenever possible. Frame climate risk as a business risk; frame clean energy as a business opportunity.
- Read our Return on Responsibility report for more guidance on how businesses should talk about climate change.
What role do trusted voices play in building support for climate solutions?
- Make sure messages land with the target audience by using trusted, relevant messengers.
- Scientists, doctors, firefighters, and farmers are examples of who people trust.
- We care about what we experience, so people will more likely listen to someone who they feel understands them. That’s why it’s important to have a diversity of messengers advocating for climate solutions.
Climate Change Communication FAQs
Find answers to frequently asked questions about effective climate change communication.
Should I still say climate change?
- Yes! The data shows saying climate change does not inherently cause backlash.
- If you aim to broadly increase support for climate solutions, messages that center on the damages of climate change consistently outperform indirect messages that don’t mention climate change.
- Looking back through years of testing with half a million Americans, we divided the messages into two groups: “climate” frames, which focus on the consequences of an overheating planet, and “clean energy” frames, which focus on the broad benefits of a clean future. The answer was clear: climate messages had a greater impact on support for clean energy than clean energy messages alone.
- If you’re still hesitant, you can always start your message with an even broader term like “pollution”, “overheating”, or “extreme weather” as an on-ramp to talking about the changing climate.
- For more, check out our That’s Interesting Issue: Don’t chicken out on “climate.”
Should I avoid talking about climate change and only talk about the benefits of climate solutions, like job creation?
- Contrary to popular belief, climate can be a winning message. While talking about climate solutions can be helpful, a direct approach is more effective. People need to be reminded of the problem in a way that is relevant and personal in order for them to support the solution.
- Strong, nonpartisan messaging around climate can shift public opinion across the aisle without significant backlash.
- For example, extreme weather events offer a unique window of opportunity for building public support for climate action. Our research found that climate messages are 2x more effective in the wake of extreme weather disasters, without creating backlash. These moments prove crucial for educating audiences on the connection between extreme weather and climate change.
What is more effective when talking about climate change: hope or fear messaging?
- The data says that fear versus hope is the wrong debate. Instead, the biggest motivator is protecting what we love.
- Across every country, love for the next generation was the dominant reason for action on climate change. This reason was 12 times more popular than creating jobs.
- Check out our global message testing report, Later is Too Late, to learn more.
What words should I avoid using when talking about climate change?
- Regular people aren’t scientists or policy experts, so skip the jargon and use clear and understandable language.
- Avoid words like:
- Decarbonization
- Net zero
- Anthropogenic
- Green house gasses
- Carbon footprint
- 5 degrees
- 100 year storm
- For more insights, check out our Talk Like a Human Communications Guide.
What words are effective when talking about climate change?
- When talking about climate change, use simple language rather than technical jargon.
- Useful terms and phrases include:
- Pollution
- Overheating
- Extreme weather
- Costing people too much
- The hottest year on record
- Read our Talk Like a Human Communications Guide for more guidance.
Can I use humor to get people to care about climate change?
- Yes! A team of researchers at the University of Colorado found “good-natured humor” improved climate change message effectiveness with college students.
- A team at Penn State found humor could increase activism intentions.
- There’s even research that says interacting with climate change memes can increase civic engagement.
- At Potential Energy Coalition, our humorous ads have proven among the most effective for reaching people who identify as politically independent.
- See our That’s Interesting newsletter issue To change minds, find the funny to learn more.
Can believers in climate change misinformation become supporters for climate solutions?
- Across issues, the United Nations ranks misinformation as a top global threat.
- Climate misinformation can weaken public demand for climate solutions.
- Fortunately, our research shows we can move climate disinformation and misinformation believers with the right messaging.
- We tested how belief in disinformation affects receptivity to more emotionally resonant climate change narratives. Every single pro-climate narrative increased the levels of support for climate solutions among disinformation believers, on average by 11 percentage points.
- For more, read our That’s Interesting newsletter on this research: Our biggest obstacle is not polarization–it’s distribution.
Can talking about adaptation, resilience, and preparation help build support for climate solutions?
- Yes, our initial research indicates that a conversation focused on adaptation, preparation, and resilience does not distract from but rather advances support for action to address climate change.
- The United Nations Development Programme advocates for both adaptation and reducing pollution to protect the people and places we love.
- For more, check out our That’s Interesting newsletter: The moral hazard of disaster preparation messaging: fact or fiction?
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