Warm Words: How are we telling the climate story and can we tell it better?

Article

This report was commissioned by the ippr as part of our project on how to stimulate climate-friendly behaviour in the UK. It analyses current UK constructions and conceptions of climate change in the public domain, using some of the tools and principles of discourse analysis and semiotics.

Putting in place effective policies to stimulate climate-friendly behaviour in the UK is clearly essential, but so too is the use of effective communications. Today in the UK, more stakeholders, including every type of media outlet, the Government, environmental groups and companies, are discussing or communicating on climate change than ever before. But what impact are these stakeholders having? Are they helping or hindering efforts to achieve behaviour change? Will producing more of the same communications do the job, and if not, how could the way climate change is communicated be improved?

To help answer those questions, ippr commissioned Linguistic Landscapes to analyse current UK constructions and conceptions of climate change in the public domain, using some of the tools and principles of discourse analysis and semiotics.

This report was commissioned by the ippr as part of our project on how to stimulate climate-friendly behaviour in the UK.

Related items

  1. Who gets a good deal? Revealing public attitudes to transport in Great Britain

    Transport isn’t working. That’s the message from the British public. This is especially true if you’re on a low income, disabled or living in the countryside. The cost of living crisis has exposed the shortcomings of our transport system,…
  2. Man using AI chatbot

    Transformed by AI: How generative artificial intelligence could affect work in the UK – and how to manage it

    Technological change is a good thing. It has brought exponential gains to living standards and is the foundation of modern society. Yet unmanaged technological change has always come with risks and disruptions.

  3. Celebrating 20 years of IPPR North

    For two decades IPPR North has been at the centre of the debate about how to rebalance England's regions. Here we take stock of how far we have come and the role we have played in shaping the "levelling up" debate.