Communicating climate change in an era of populism

The author examines how the rise of populism in Western politics, exemplified by the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and political shifts in the UK and Germany, creates risks for climate action. While some nations and entities have responded by strengthening their commitments, the author contends that overcoming political polarisation requires shifting climate communication from expert-led discourse to a values-based approach that builds broad societal consensus.

• The rise of populism in Western politics is identified as a significant risk to climate action, as seen in the US, UK, and Germany. In the US, this manifested in the president's intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and the removal of climate change from the National Security Strategy. In the UK, the government's approach has been described as 'piecemeal', involving the scrapping of the Department for Energy and Climate Change and cuts to renewable energy subsidies until 2025. In Germany, the success of the 'Alternative for Germany' party led to a more reserved tone on climate issues and potential failure to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
• The US decision to exit the Paris Agreement has had a galvanizing effect on other global actors. This includes joint commitment statements from the EU and China, the 'We Are Still In' campaign by US subnational entities and businesses, French President Emmanuel Macron's offer to help fund the IPCC, the creation of an international alliance to phase out coal by 2030, and the World Bank's decision to stop financing oil and gas extraction projects starting in 2019.
• To counter the 'post-truth' landscape and political polarisation, climate communication must move beyond experts and focus on shared values that underpin decision-making. The author suggests changing the imagery of climate change from 'melting ice caps' to how families adapt to rising sea levels to build a broader societal consensus.
• The author highlights global progress in green technology, noting that the renewable energy sector employs nearly 10 million people globally, there are almost 2 million electric cars worldwide, and solar energy is being used for refugees in Jordan and Burkina Faso, as well as for trains and airports from the Netherlands to Australia.

APA

Bhardwaj, G. (2018). Communicating climate change in an era of populism. Climate Outreach. https://climateoutreach.org/communicating-climate-change-era-populism/

Chicago

Bhardwaj, Gitika. Communicating climate change in an era of populism. Climate Outreach, 2018. https://climateoutreach.org/communicating-climate-change-era-populism/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Bhardwaj |first1=Gitika |title=Communicating climate change in an era of populism |publisher=Climate Outreach |date=26 February 2018 |url=https://climateoutreach.org/communicating-climate-change-era-populism/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{bhardwaj2018communicating, author = {Bhardwaj, Gitika}, title = {{Communicating climate change in an era of populism}}, publisher = {Climate Outreach}, year = {2018}, month = feb, url = {https://climateoutreach.org/communicating-climate-change-era-populism/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }