The past few months have been a whirlwind. Our cohort moved from CALS 500 where we gained an understanding of climate science foundations, then went directly into CALS 502 to study climate communications. Throughout this we have also been working on our design challenge, applying iterations and preparing for the next phase of the design process. A question I’ve found myself asking throughout the program is “when will I know enough?”. Within this blog post, we’ve been prompted to answer the question of how our learning has influenced our understanding of empowering others to take climate action. In considering this prompt, I am drawn to the question of the knowledge-action gap and what it takes to give individuals the confidence and the tools to move towards action.

Within CALS 500 we started by learning about paleoclimatology and just how devastating the impacts of human-caused emissions are. A particularly jarring example of this is the impact humans have had on the planet’s natural cycles. Milanković cycles are a naturally occurring process where the earth cools over time, moving in and out of ice-ages. Historically, CO2 variations were caused by these natural changes in the temperature of the planet, however humans have flipped this relationship and in only 100 years the increase of human-caused CO2 emissions is now driving temperature change (Emanuel, 2020, p.21). We also learned about tipping points, feedback loops and the delicate balance of complex systems. With this new knowledge what has been particularly challenging to grasp is how, with all that we know about climate change, did we get here? And if the vast amount of information isn’t enough to make every person on the planet react to this emergency – what will it take?

  Authors Hine et al. bring this question into sharp attention within their article “​​Preaching to different choirs: How to motivate dismissive, uncommitted, and alarmed audiences to adapt to climate change?”. The authors note that “realistic awareness” of the impacts of climate change are generally “confined to scientists and senior government officials but not widely recognized within the general population”, therefore making the “greatest challenge for the next few decades (…) less about refining climate projections and more about increasing awareness and engaging communities in climate-change adaptation and mitigation strategies” (Hine et al, 2015, p.1). This challenge of informing citizens about climate change is echoed by climate scientists, as noted in the 2019 Canada’s Changing Climate Report, the uncertainty of human behaviour and whether we follow a pathway of low, medium or high emissions will impact the magnitude of future climate change (Bush et al, 2019, p.16). If there is a gap between climate science and engaging people to take climate action, what can be done to close this gap?

In the newly published book All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and the Solutions for the Climate Crisis, Youth activist Xiye Bastida speaks to the importance of pushing through the knowledge-action gap, noting: “You don’t have to know the details of the science to be part of the solution. And if you wait until you know everything, it will be too late for you to do anything” (Bastida, 2021, p.3). My design group, tasked with creating a prototype of an open educational tool which will empower and engage users to take climate action, have been struggling with the knowledge-action gap and turned to climate communications studies for answers. Knowing the importance of locality in climate communications, as well as the importance of framing messaging so that it is linked to the values and beliefs held by individuals (Maibach et al. 2011, pp.18-19) we shifted our focus from creating a national network to instead empowering individuals within their own communities to lead climate change conversations. Instead of being overwhelmed by the daunting question of “how do we convince people everywhere to tackle everything?”, we moved to asking how local leaders, who know the values of their communities (whether that be a municipality, business or community space), and are trusted by those communities, can apply small solutions locally.  

This approach has helped me to begin closing my own knowledge-action gap, as I am able to reframe the question of, “when will I know enough”, to instead ask “what can I do now, with what I know now?”. Within an episode of the podcast How to Save a Planet, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson discusses her response to individuals asking what they can do to fight climate change. Johnson prompts individuals to imagine a venn diagram where the overlapping circles are your skills, what work needs to be done and what brings you joy (Johnson, 2021). Johnson invites listeners to find their work at the intersection of these three things, offering a way towards climate action which is immediate, achievable and sustainable. As I move forward within my work in climate action leadership, I plan to continue re-visiting this framing and use it as a tool with which to motivate other individuals towards climate action work. 

Works Cited

Bastida, X. (2021). Calling In. In A. E. Johnson & K. K. Wilkinson (Eds.), All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis (pp. 3–7). essay, One World. 

Bush, E., Gillett, N., Bonsal, B., Cohen, S., Derksen, C., Flato, G., Greenan, B., Shepherd, M., & Zhang, X. (2019). Executive summary. Government of Canada. 

Emanuel, Kerry A. Climate Science, Risk & Solutions. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 15 May 2020: https://climateprimer.mit.edu/climate-science-risk-solutions.pdf

Hine, D.W. et al. (2016). Preaching to different choirs: How to motivate dismissive, uncommitted, and alarmed audiences to adapt to climate change? Global Environmental Change 36, 1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.11.002

Johnson, A.E., & Blumberg, A. (2021, July 1). Drs. Jane Goodall & Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Talk About Hope. In How to Save a Planet. Gimlet.

Maibach E, Nisbet M, & Weathers M. (2011) Conveying the Human Implications of Climate Change: A Climate Change Communication Primer for Public Health Professionals. Fairfax, VA: George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.