Problem

Many regard climate change as the most pressing risk and concern facing the world today. We constantly read and hear about catastrophic natural disasters happening in different countries – from earthquakes in Syria and Turkey to floods in Pakistan. It can however be challenging for some people to take climate action because they themselves do not experience the wrath of climate change directly. This results in their perception of climate risks being lowered. Some may also feel that their individual action alone could not possibly make a difference to combat high-level disasters.

Opportunity

IPUR led a study which involved speaking to 50 climate change communicators from Thailand and Singapore. We found that the level of risk an individual felt exposed to was likely to be influenced by how he or she understood or framed “climate-related risks” and “climate change”. The study also found that there are differences between the types of communicators. Scientists and journalists were most concerned with the evidence for climate risks and providing a balanced and unbiased view, while online influencers and activists emphasised attitude change or taking action to address climate change.

Intervention

IPUR found that the role of climate change communicators, who work to relate climate change impacts to the experiences of their audience with extreme events, was one way to bridge the gap between risk perception and experience. A major factor in developing strategies to motivate the public to take action is tailoring information to specific demographics (cultural, age, profession etc).