CALS502 Climate Communications Assignment #2
Climate communications are a challenge. As our instructor put it, “… there’s still a lot of work to be done in understanding how to most effectively communicate about climate change, given the complexity of the topic, how deeply it intersects with everything, and how challenging our communication and media environments are today” (Houlden, 2021a).
Given that complexity, how can people understand climate change and know what to do about it? They can not simply Google it. In fact, a quick Google search for “climate change” landed me with 992 million results!
Even as a relatively informed, engaged citizen and environmental scientist, trying to understand what to do about climate change can still be overwhelming and confusing. Although there is a lot of information available, I see some big gaps in climate change communications. For example, people do not understand what the climate impacts are at their local level and are therefore confused about how to help with this massive problem. I also think there is a glaring gap in terms of a future vision. What could a hopeful future look like and how can we all work towards it?
One of the specific challenges with climate communications is that there are mixed messages about what to do. The knowledge itself is out there, but it “is far from clear to even the most motivated people what actions to take” (Moser, 2016, p. 351). In addition, the energy around the climate counter movement, especially in the United States, and the politicized environment for climate science communication has hindered progress on climate action (Moser, 2016).
The good news is that there has been a lot of research done to help make climate communication more effective. For example, one of the core principles is that you can not simply put information out there and expect people to take action. Communications need to be tailored to the target audience and empower them to choose viable options (Moser, 2016). Communication strategies can also work to connect people who have deep cultural and ideological differences, but the “call to action” can not come through the traditional communications forms and messages; it needs to be thoughtful, respectful, deliberate and speak to the values of the audience (Moser, 2016).
It is therefore clear in climate communications, that the audience must be well understood, and if it is not, consultation must be part of the process. “Understand the intended audience’s knowledge and values. Use framing and language that will resonate with target audiences and evolve their understanding of, and contribution to, an issue. If you are not sure which framings and messages will resonate best or how to make your communications most relevant, then consult well” (Dupar, et al, 2021, p.9).
Once you know your audience, a variety of techniques can increase understanding and bolster the effectiveness of the request for action. Some of these techniques are summarized in Table 1 below.
Recently, a YouTube video entitled, “Can YOU Fix Climate Change?” published on the “Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell” YouTube channel (Kurzgesagt, 2021) was forwarded to me by my colleague, a male engineer-in-training in his twenties. He had received the video from a friend of the same demographic. This was no coincidence, as the Kurzgesagt channel has a 83% male viewership, mostly in the 18 to 34 age range (Fanbridge, n.d.). The channel has been growing in popularity over the past few years with 16 million subscribers worldwide and 1.6 billion views (speakrj.com, n.d.), with about half of those coming from North America (Fanbridge, n.d.). Many of the channels’ videos are also available in German.
The Kurzgesagt channel is categorized as “education, science” (Fanbridge, n.d.) and provides over one hundred animated explainer videos. Their goal is to explain the universe and our existence “one video at a time.” They describe themselves as one of the biggest science channels on Youtube reaching an audience of millions of people, and their website indicates that videos are supported by NGOs, scientists and leading brands (kurzgesagt.org, n.d.). Kurzgesagt openly addresses their credibility with other YouTube videos such as, “Can You Trust Kurzgesagt Videos?” and, “How to Make a Kurzgesagt Video in 1200 Hours.” These are all free to watch. However it is worth noting that the financial sustainability of popular YouTube channels depends on their content being “advertiser-friendly.”
I wanted to evaluate a YouTube video, because I think they can be an effective tool to help address some of the climate communications gaps mentioned above, and because it can quickly, easily reach a large number of people. YouTube is the second-most visited Website after Google and the second most-used social platform after FaceBook (Newberry, 2021).
In the spirit of fully understanding the audience for this evaluation, note that the Kurzgesagt channels’ viewers would also be familiar with using YouTube, generally interested in science, and likely to have a university education. This type of expository narration video is favoured and believed significantly more by university-educated individuals, whereas the user-generated “infotainment” type videos that are shorter and have lower production values are believed and preferred more by viewers without a university education (Davis, et al, 2020). I am also assuming that there is a large portion of the viewership that may not know much about climate change, but are willing to learn more. This component of the audience is interesting to me because I believe we also need similar videos that address climate impacts and potential actions at the local scale.
Table 1 evaluates the effectiveness of the Kurzgesagt video in relation to its audience. Further explanation is provided below, along with conclusions for each technique.
Table 1. Evaluation of communications techniques used in the Can YOU fix climate change? video for a target audience of educated males in North America, aged 18-34 who are familiar with YouTube and interested in science, but not necessarily informed on climate change.
| Technique | What works? | What doesn’t work? |
| 1. “Understand the intended audience’s knowledge and values. Use framing and language that will resonate with target audiences to evolve understanding of, and contribution to, an issue” (Dupar, et al, 2021, p.9). | Scientific, well-researched facts. Language and tone appeal to interested individuals. Democracy, science, economics, equity, and social justice values are demonstrated and inspire action in community-minded individuals. Realistic, practical, achievable solutions resonate with logical thinkers (vote at ballot and with wallet, have honest conversations). Avoids fear with style and imagery that appeals to the level-headed, rational viewer e.g. animation of city flooding omits human trauma. | Style may not appeal to key demographics (e.g. women) required for the proposed solution: systemic change. |
| 2. Use storytelling and narrative formats to convey climate change in a more understandable, relatable and memorable way (Moser, 2016). | Outlines a clear purpose and follows a logical story development including beginning, climax/ conflict, ending, and transition back to the main question. Subheadings and level of detail are explained up front to encourage longer viewing attention. Common language and imagery (no jargon) improves recall of facts and requested actions. Presents a new twist by challenging traditional focus on individual carbon footprint. Provides a hopeful vision for the future without a complete downfall of current lifestyle. | No human characters to connect with, lacking emotionality and personality. Story lacks full sensory experience. |
| 3. Use trusted, credible messengers and influencers (Hodson, 2019). | Channel has established credibility with supporting explainer videos on the topic of trust. Uncertainty is disclosed, and opinions vs. facts are delineated. Speaks to considerations common to both the channel and the audience e.g. need for personal devices. Male narrator creates familiarity to the audience, which leads to persuasiveness (Houlden, 2021b). “Gates Notes” is clearly referenced and is a mainstream influencer for the audience. | Contrast between individual carbon footprint to collective industrial emissions is slightly misleading. Should compare equivalent indicators. More explanation required on the benefits and potential drawbacks of the actions requested. |
| 4. Use affective imagery and a shareable format (Hodson, 2019). | Images help simplify complex details. Brief, modern format aligns with messages (running out of time, traditional narrative is outdated). Animated characters are universal. Highly shareable. | Missed the opportunity to use the medium as a way to depict a compelling vision for the future. Number of views does not necessarily correspond to high level of action. |
- Understand audience and appeal to values
With respect to climate change, “… the values we hold affect not only our perceptions and interpretations of the climate and our acceptability of climate science, but—crucially, and often more prominently—the acceptability of anticipated or proposed behavioral changes, technological solutions, or climate policies” (Moser, 2016, p.6). Therefore, “the research recommends crafting communication to speak to community values and whenever possible demonstrate the preferred behavior and attitude change as a social norm” (Hodson, section 2.3).
Kurzgesagt uses language, tone, style that appeals to its key audience, and speaks to social justice values, which will encourage actions from those beyond the typical environmental audience.
- Use Storytelling
The value of storytelling is understood across cultures as an effective way to connect with the audience and improve engagement. Especially when addressing science and community issues, the message is more effective through a compelling narrative rather than a simple provision of scientific facts (Hodson, 2019).
An effective story structure usually includes the following elements:
- A clear purpose—a reason why you’re telling this story, to this audience, at this time;
- A personal/emotional connection to the story;
- Detailed characters and imagery—visual descriptions the evoke the five senses;
- A climax—Relatable conflict, vulnerability, or achievement; and
- A clear beginning, climax/conflict, ending, and transition back to the main topic. (Bayer and Hettinger, 2019).
Kurzgesagt uses imagery and effective narrative to develop a storyline that explains complex topics. However, in order to achieve the proposed solution of systematic change, a broader audience must be engaged, requiring a more personalized, character-based story.
3. Trust and credibility of messenger
Trust in the messenger is important in the current information environment, in which trust of government messaging is quite low (Hodson, 2019) especially among young people (Corner, et. al, 2015).
The use of influencers helps to make climate science communication more impactful, because an influencer with currency is respected, and considered to be well connected in their network, and their messages are seen by a high number of other people (Hodson, 2019).
Kurzgesagt has established itself as a credible, responsible source for scientific explanations, and can influence their target audience to take action. More analysis on the proposed actions should be presented.
4. Imagery and shareable format
For complex issues such as climate change, a wide variety of tools are required (Moser, 2016) and affective imagery can influence public support for policy (Hodson, 2019). The development of high quality, shareable materials takes planning (Dupar et al, 2019), but will reach a wider audience, including those with differing values.
The narrated, animated YouTube video uses imagery to supplement the narrative and increase understanding of climate change. It is easily shareable, resulting in a high number of views.
In conclusion, the Kurzgesagt “Can YOU fix climate change?” video is an effective communications tool to explain climate change and inspire action. I plan to recommend this type of video at the local level to explain climate impacts and motivate action by a broader audience. With a few enhancements, this tool can also communicate a compelling vision for a hopeful future.
Resources
Bayer, S., & Hettinger, A. (2019). Storytelling: A natural tool to weave the threads of science and community together. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 100(2), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1542
Corner, A., Roberts, O., Chiari, S. Völler, S., Mayrhuber, E.S., Mandl, S., Monson, K. (2015). How do young people engage with climate change? The role of knowledge, values, message framing, and trusted communicators. WIREs Climate Change, 6(5), 523-534. https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/wcc.353
Davis, L.S., Leon, B., Bourk, M.J., and Finkler, W. (2020). Transformation of the media landscape: Infotainment versus expository narrations for communicating science in online videos. Sage Journals 29(7), 688-701. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0963662520945136
Dupar, M., McNamara, L.. and Pacha, M. (2019). Communicating climate change: A practitioner’s guide. Cape Town: Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Communicating%20climate%20change_Insights%20from%20CDKNs%20experience.pdf
Fanbridge (n.d.). Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell. Channel stats and demographics. Channel Pages by Fanbridge. Retrieved from: https://channelpages.com/Kurzgesagt
Hodson, J. (2019). An ecological model of climate marketing: A conceptual framework for understanding climate science related attitude and behavior change. Cogent Social Sciences, 5(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2019.1625101
Houlden, S. (2021a). Week 2 Readings – Some key considerations. Moodle CALS502. https://commons.royalroads.ca/cals502/
Houlden, S. (2021b). Personal communication. 8 October, 2021.
Kurzgesagt (2021, September 22). Can YOU fix climate change? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiw6_JakZFc&ab_channel=Kurzgesagt%E2%80%93InaNutshell
Kurzgesagt.org. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved from: https://kurzgesagt.org/youtube/
Moser, S .C. (2016). Reflections on climate change communication research and practice in the second decade of the 21st century: What more is there to say? WIREs Climate Change, 7(3), 345-369. https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/wcc.403
Newberry, C. (2021). 25 YouTube Statistics that May Surprise You: 2021 Edition. Hootsuite Blog. https://blog.hootsuite.com/youtube-stats-marketers/
Speakrj.com. (n.d.). Kurzgesagt – In A Nutshell. Audit report. REtrieved from: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11SFlKzWN4h19aKCQgLEdIXbHskIEw2YGcSeMc-YaCnQ/edit#