Role of emotions in climate change communication

Abstract

Climate change is increasingly becoming a challenging issue for policy makers and societies, but the question is why the public does not pay more attention to this issue. Climate change is a complex environmental, cultural, social, psychological and political issue. What role, if any, do emotions play in the public’s beliefs about climate change and support for climate policies? Several studies show that emotions affect people’s views on climate change. Empirical studies show that communicators can use emotions to motivate and support climate change solutions. However, emotions are the missing link in effective communication about climate change. The aim of this paper is to discuss the potential role that emotions play in climate change communication. The paper concludes that emotions are the missing link in climate change communication. It is important to know what motivates the audience to behave in certain ways and what might inspire them to change that behaviour. There is an urgent need to consider emotional aspects when we discuss the implications of climate change and how to communicate adaptation and mitigation to climate change.