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Communicating Climate Change:Go beyond fear, CO2 & COPs!
By Nalaka GunawardeneScience writer & communication consultant
Presentation at:Sri Lanka Next: Climate Communications
Workshop for JournalistsColombo, 19 Oct 2016
nalakagunawardene.com
Where I come from… Trained as science writer, worked in
print, broadcast & web media for 25+ yrs Been covering climate change stories
from 1988 Not obsessed with global climate talks;
instead, looking at how to prepare for inevitable impacts + climate solutions
Part of Lankan expert team that prepared National Climate Adaptation Strategy 2011-2016 (esp. comm. strategy)
nalakagunawardene.com
Communications since Rio 1992:It’s now a multi-narrative world… Mainstream media: still important - even
though their influence slowly declining Many more channels & voices today:
Citizens armed with smartphones accessing online info sources, reacting & sharing
Advocacy orgs doing more direct engagement of public (without mass media)
Social Media: Blogs, FB, Instagram, Twitter: Loud, chaotic & contested public sphere!
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A Tale of Two Worlds?
http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/environment/analysis-blog/climate-communication-key-to-survival.html
Proper climate communication is key to our survival. But it’s easier said than done!
nalakagunawardene.com
Climate Communication: make it ‘Third plank’ in climate response “As climate change impacts are felt more widely,
the imperative for action is greater than ever. Telling the climate story in accurate and accessible ways should be an essential part of climate response. That response is currently organised around two ‘planks’: mitigation and adaptation. Climate communication can be the ‘third plank’ that strengthens the first two.”
- Nalaka Gunawardene, SciDev.Net, 23 Apr 2014
nalakagunawardene.com
Change is slow…But it IS happening! We are well past the ‘ifs’ and ‘whens’ of climate
change: it’s unfolding here & today — whether we’re ready or not!
Govts are committed to Paris Agreement But they need to persuade their publics on
behaviour changes & reforms needed In democracies: public discussion & debate
vital: climate can’t be saved by diktat! Communications plays major role
nalakagunawardene.com
Climate Communication is an art(based on science!)
Environmentalists & scientists have failed to build sufficient urgency for action. We need new communication approaches. Some basic tips:1. Tell more unique, local stories.2. Focus on audience, not argument3. Use emotion and narrative. 4. Be sensitive to North-South disparities. https://orionmagazine.org/2013/03/on-the-art-of-climate-change-communication/
Dr M SanjayanVice President & Senior Scientist, Conservation International
TV personality in the US
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What is to be done?Get the messages right…
We must move away from disaster-driven climate communications of doom and gloom
Focus on climate resilience & practical solutions to achieve it
What matters to average person: Cheaper energy (economic benefit) Cleaner air (health benefit) Staying alive (public safety benefit)
nalakagunawardene.com
Go beyond those already ‘green’… Climate justice notions,
biodiversity conservation & other considerations appeal to those ALREADY concerned with issues.
To reach out & engage those unconverted, climate communication must use health, wealth & children
nalakagunawardene.com
3 key tips for climate communicators… Don’t peddle fear: enough of
doom & gloom! Talk of more than disasters & destruction
Look beyond CO2, responsible for only half of global warming. Don’t forget the other half!
Focus on local level impacts & responses: most people don’t care about UNFCCC or COPs!
nalakagunawardene.com
Breakthrough: Using Montreal Protocol to control HFCs (legally binding treaty)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/15/climate-change-environmentalists-hail-deal-to-limit-use-of-hydrofluorocarbons
nalakagunawardene.com
Beyond Carbon: Tackling the rest! Not all greenhouse gases warm equally. Many non-CO2 contributors have a higher
global warming potential -- or how much heat they can trap in the atmosphere.
Some linger on in the atmosphere for much shorter periods than CO2
international attention now being focused on these “short-lived climate pollutants”, or SLCPs
nalakagunawardene.com
http://www.grida.no/graphicslib/detail/black-carbon-bc-and-co-pollutants-from-incomplete-combustion_00a4
nalakagunawardene.com
http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/publishing/analysis-blog/sooty-south-asian-air-and-global-warming.html
nalakagunawardene.com
We need more stories on non-carbon climate actions!
http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/publishing/analysis-blog/sooty-south-asian-air-and-global-warming.html
nalakagunawardene.com
Challenges journalists face when covering climate change in media…
Technicalities: policymakers and public not clear about science involved
Uncertainties: further confusion caused by scientists not having all the answers
Politics: Some environmentalists use c/c to bash industrialized countries (debate gets polarized)
Language issues: Sinhala terms for weather (kala-gunaya) and climate (desha-gunaya) often get mixed up much confusion!
nalakagunawardene.com
Update yourself with latest info:Don’t be stuck with old data!
Image by Times of India, 25 June 2015 (using 2012 data)
nalakagunawardene.com
Journalists must connect dots…
“Most people live and work in day-to-day ‘weather’. They can’t relate to long-term ‘climate’. It’s our job [as journalists] to make those links clear, simple and accessible...”- Tarzie Vittachi (1921 – 1993)
Editor of Ceylon Observer & The Asian (Hong Kong); Columnist for: South (London), Newsweek
nalakagunawardene.com
In connecting the dots… Balance micro level details with the
bigger/macro picture (both needed) Acknowledge nobody has all the
answers (collective action vital)… See climate as much more than an
environmental or ‘green’ issue: it also benefits human health, agriculture, and overall economics
nalakagunawardene.com
My own Triple-S Formulain covering climate stories… Informed by Good Science (but
not immersed in it!) Tell authentic, compelling
journalistic Stories in Simple (but not simplistic)
ways (using accessible text, images, infographics, audio, video, interactive media…)
nalakagunawardene.com
SUMMARY: Balances to keep…
Micro-Macro: pixels vs bigger picture Scientists’ cautions vs activist claims Media needs vs. public interest Sense of urgency vs. undue alarmism Catchy headlines vs. uncertainties to
be acknowledged Staying with long-term stories while
reporting current events
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