5 tips from the front lines for talking about climate change

The guide argues that the primary challenge in climate communication is not a lack of awareness, but a lack of urgency and action. It suggests focusing on present-day impacts rather than distant projections, making future risks personal to specific regions, and avoiding insignificant action recommendations in favor of meaningful changes to travel, home energy, and financial investments. The author emphasizes that the messenger is as important as the message and recommends citing unexpected allies, such as oil companies and insurance firms, to validate the urgency of the crisis.

• Public awareness and concern regarding climate change are already high, with approximately two-thirds of the US public and three-quarters of the UK public expressing concern; therefore, the primary communication goal should be driving action rather than increasing awareness.
• To create a sense of urgency, communicators should focus on immediate, observable effects—such as the fact that 17 of the 18 hottest years on record occurred this century and Arctic summer sea ice has declined by 13% per decade since the 1970s—rather than distant or overly dramatic future projections.
• When using projections, the guide recommends personalizing the impacts for specific regions: sea-level rise and flooding in Florida, increased likelihood of deadly heatwaves in Europe, and higher drought risks affecting water and agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Effective communication should leverage 'surprising' messengers who acknowledge climate change, including the world's largest oil and gas companies, insurance companies, investors, and global decision-makers.
• To provide meaningful agency, communicators should avoid promoting insignificant actions and instead focus on the largest components of a carbon footprint, specifically home energy use and travel, as well as collective action and sustainable pension funds.

APA

Burston, J. (2018). 5 tips from the front lines for talking about climate change. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/how-to-talk-about-climate-change-5-tips-from-the-front-lines/

Chicago

Burston, Jane. 5 tips from the front lines for talking about climate change. World Economic Forum, 2018. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/how-to-talk-about-climate-change-5-tips-from-the-front-lines/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Burston |first1=Jane |title=5 tips from the front lines for talking about climate change |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=28 June 2018 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/how-to-talk-about-climate-change-5-tips-from-the-front-lines/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{burston2018tips, author = {Burston, Jane}, title = {{5 tips from the front lines for talking about climate change}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/how-to-talk-about-climate-change-5-tips-from-the-front-lines/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }