Turning Over a New Leaf

Turning over a new leaf. There is something incredibly profound and hopeful in our language at the start of a new year. Something that I don’t believe carries over to the way we talk about climate change.

Climate change communication is triggered by several psychological barriers including distance, doom, denial and dissonance, all of which create a disconnection with the issue of climate change.

Distance in climate communication is obvious, when we highlight dates such as 2050, 2100 and even later it is easy to detach from the issue. We need to shift our language away from abstract figures of predicted atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration towards real world stories and examples people can truly connect with. Similarly, doomsayer visions of a climate catastrophe can draw attention away from the more immediate, local effects of climate change which are devastating families around the world. Studies in psychology have indicated that overuse of fear-inducing images limit effectiveness of responses. Whilst trying to convey the urgency of this issue, it is easy to spiral into the existential threat that climate change poses. With this continual messaging of catastrophe it is easy to understand why feelings of eco-anxiety are becoming more widespread among young people.

Instead, perhaps, we need to focus on and tell more stories of growth. Personally, I think education could be a powerful force in encouraging students to imagine this alternate, more hopeful future for the world. These stories could tell of a world in which humans collaborate alongside the natural world. It could tell of ways in which we could design out waste. I hope we can use the new year to re-examine ways we talk about climate, thinking forwards about the ways our actions can help us turn over a new leaf.  

Reference: https://e360.yale.edu/features/dan_kahan_interview_better_message_risks_climate_change

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