Communicating climate change adaptation

The document outlines a values-based approach to communicating climate change adaptation, emphasizing the need to align messages with audience values, avoid doom-based narratives, and leverage social norms and extreme weather events to increase personal relevance and political cross-spectrum engagement.

• Effective climate change communication should be based on the values of the target audience, using a 'values map' to identify these and framing messages to bridge the gap between audience values and the values of a sustainable society.
• To overcome the 'psychological distance' of climate change, communicators should focus on the benefits of adaptation policies rather than risks, and connect climate risks to familiar health issues like asthma, hypothermia, or heat-stroke.
• Severe weather events provide opportunities to engage the public by using narratives of community pride, mutual caring, and resilience to discuss future preparation.
• Engagement across the political spectrum requires tailored language; for example, appealing to political conservatives by focusing on the wellbeing of communities or the beauty of the countryside.
• Social norms and networks are powerful tools for communication, as people are more responsive when they see peers ('people like them') taking climate adaptation seriously.

APA

Wojcik, A. (2021). Communicating climate change adaptation. World Association for Christian Communication. https://waccglobal.org/communicating-climate-change-adaptation/

Chicago

Wojcik, Alice. Communicating climate change adaptation. World Association for Christian Communication, 2021. https://waccglobal.org/communicating-climate-change-adaptation/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wojcik |first1=Alice |title=Communicating climate change adaptation |publisher=World Association for Christian Communication |date=24 November 2021 |url=https://waccglobal.org/communicating-climate-change-adaptation/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wojcik2021communicating, author = {Wojcik, Alice}, title = {{Communicating climate change adaptation}}, institution = {World Association for Christian Communication}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://waccglobal.org/communicating-climate-change-adaptation/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }