Podcast: Communicating climate risk and adaptation ft. Dr Adam Corner

Knowing how to talk about climate change impacts and the actions taken to curb it isn’t always easy. One of the first things communications specialists will say is that you need to know your audience. Recent research conducted in the UK in November 2019 show that there has been a massive shift in the public’s perceptions about climate change. Climate change came second only to Brexit when respondents were asked which were the main issues that the country would face in the next 20 years. Whilst this research was conducted before COVID-19 outbreaks were reported (and this podcast was recorded just before the UK had heightened restrictions) the learnings are still valuable for thinking about how we now talk about climate change.  With heightened public awareness and concern about action on climate change, narratives about adaptation and resilience need to be carefully formed to ensure that engagement remains high, and that action is taken and sustained.

In this podcast episode, we speak to Dr Adam Corner from Climate Outreach to find out more about this recent research project and the principles for engagement that they have derived from it. Climate Outreach are a team of social scientists and communication specialists working to increase public engagement with climate change. They work at the interface of research and practice and help organisations to communicate climate change in ways that resonate with the values of their audiences.