Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2025

Most voters think global warming is affecting the cost of living.

A medical language for climate discourse

Innovative communication theories propose that we understand messages not by decoding their meaning but by inferring what speakers intend to express. However scientifically accurate the messages climate scientists have put forward, the appropriate inferences may not have been drawn by most of their audiences. One of the main reasons may be that scientific metaphors allow for multiple interpretations, yet, because of their expressive power, they impact discourses disproportionately. Climate communication took a path of euphemistic scientific expressions partially due to the noble scientific norms of self-restraint and modesty, but the hidden implications of climate jargon distort the way non-experts think about the heating climate. Consequently, the current climate jargon hinders informed decisions about Earth’s life support systems. Changing the softened expressions of climate language, from the cool of basic research to the heat and compassion of medical contexts, may allow for more productive public and political debates – which may lead to more powerful policy solutions. Speaking and thinking in medical terms could turn the perception of worst case scenarios from hypotheticals or doomism to life-saving interventions. We typically start reducing fever before it gets out of control, let alone crosses a threshold of potential death. Instead of putting on a positivist mascara, a calm and serious discussion of safety measures in medical terms, for example, talking about clim...

Improving figures for climate change communications: Insights from interviews with international policymakers and practitioners - Climatic Change

Nearly 200 governments rely on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for scientific assessments of climate change. IPCC figures are important for conveying key findings, but can be difficult for policymakers and practitioners to understand. Best practices in graph design, summarized in the IPCC’s visual style guide, recommend conducting interviews with members of the target audience before finalizing figures. Therefore, we interviewed 20 policy makers and practitioners from different countries about three figures drafted for the second order draft of the summary for policymakers associated with IPCC’s Working Group III Sixth Assessment Report. Half were frequent users and half were occasional users of climate science, but similar comments emerged from both groups. The figures received a median rating of 3, on a scale from 1 (= not easy at all to understand) to 5 (= very easy to understand). Showing the caption did not always improve these ratings. Overall, two types of recommendations emerged. First, participants suggested focusing each figure on one key message for policymakers, and removing irrelevant details. For IPCC authors, this involves making hard choices about what to show in the figure and what to leave for the text. Additionally, participants suggested straightforward fixes such as using clear titles, labels, and captions that support the key message. Based on our findings, we present recommendations for the design of climate change figures, and examples of revised figures. These recommendations should be useful for the next round of IPCC reports, and for other organizations that communicate about climate science with policymakers and practitioners.

Designing Impactful Climate Literacy Education for Emergency Management—and Beyond

Emergency managers are already facing the consequences of climate change in the workplace. How can education programs better prepare them for crises?

Seeing is believing: Climate change graph design and user judgments of credibility, usability, and risk | Geosphere | GeoScienceWorld

From Knowledge to Power - an interview with John Perona: scientist, author, and blogger

A short while ago John Perona got in touch to make us aware of his weekly newsletter „Earthward“ and his website „From Knowledge to Power“. We found it to be another resource with some mission similarities to Skeptical Science but with a strong identity of its own, and powerful content with a more policy-centric approach. As we were excited to learn about John’s website, we collaborated with him for this interview-style blog post to learn more about his background and how his site came to be.

As heat records break, the climate movement has the right answers – but the words are all wrong

The fossil fuel industry has spent billions on winning over the public. Green activists must learn from its tactics, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

The incredible shrinking world of sustainability communications | Greenbiz

Is it any wonder few sustainability stories ever see the light of day?