Communicating About Climate
The basic scientific consensus—that human activity is changing the climate; that the consequences could be dire; and that effective countermeasures will require massive effort—has been strengthening for years. But the details are complex and the science is continuously developing, creating challenges for understanding and action at every level. Moreover, there is a great need to translate for a general audience the authoritative, yet highly technical, assessment published every five to six years by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, all the while staying abreast of the latest science in this rapidly changing field.
Clear, relevant, science-based information empowers people and their institutions.
Climate change is difficult to communicate by its very nature. Greenhouse gases are invisible, and the cumulative effects of their ongoing increase—warming and other changes in our climate—are delayed. Temperatures rise gradually compared to the news cycle, and changes are small weighed against daily weather swings. Many serious consequences from this essentially invisible threat appear to pose problems for people and biota half a world away or for distant future generations. But upon recognizing the problem, the scale of the challenge can seem so overwhelming that we feel powerless and tune out.
And yet the reality of climate change does not go away.
The public and policymakers need a clear and constantly updated source of information about climate change. It has to be vivid and meaningful to help them see the changes already happening, those yet to come, and how our choices today will directly affect our future. People need a place where they can go to learn the latest about what we know, what we think we know, and what we do not know.
Biased voices can also hinder public understanding of high-stakes issues like climate change. Profit motives can advance solutions not in society’s long-term interest. So can a zealous rush to embrace new developments before the science is in.
Only a group with deep and extensive expertise on climate change and without a political or economic agenda can cut through such dueling voices with neutrality and reason.
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