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Supporting community action on climate change

With support from

How can I talk in my community about climate change?

This section focuses particularly on rural audiences and how to communicate climate change with those around you.

This page includes:

  • Communicating Climate Change: A 40-minute video clip from Alana Sinclair discussing both what she has learnt about communicating climate change and recent research on general advice from Climate Outreach,
  • Slides and Worksheets: Slides to help work through this topic along with a couple of worksheets to support active listening,
  • Further Resources: A list of further resources including articles, guides, websites, blogs or video clips help build knowledge of the topic. Note these resources are external pages not moderated or managed by Cambridge Carbon Footprint.

Further resources

Britain talks climate
An evidence-based toolkit designed to support any organisation that wants to engage the British public on climate change.

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Insights
A shared research knowledge base for the area. It allows users an easy way to access and share information and research for deeper insights about their local area.

CharityComms
The membership organisation for charity communications professionals. Championing best practice across the charity sector their peer-to-peer sharing network is like no other.

Climate visuals
A repository of images put together by Climate Outreach. The world’s only evidence-based and impact focused climate photography resource.

Communicating lifestyle change
A report outlining the impact of lifestyle changes on greenhouse gas emissions and how to foster lifestyle changes through policies.

From ambition to action
This is the third and final seminar in the Ambition to Action series, in it we explore how to effectively communicate your commitments and progress on sustainability to internal and external stakeholders.

Media Trust
Matches skilled professionals from across the media and creative industry with charities, local communities and young people in need of vital communications training, mentoring and support.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
The membership community for charities, voluntary organisations and community groups in England. Includes lots of helpful resources.

Rural attitudes to climate change
A report aiming to equip UK rural councillors to engage with their communities on climate change.

How can I talk in my community about climate change?

This session explores:

  • how to develop a successful local initiative that is both effective and sustainable;
  • and how to communicate climate change, particularly to rural audiences.  

Resources

Essential reading

ThemeTitleTypeTimeDetails
Behaviour changeCommunicating Lifestyle ChangeArticle0:45:00A report outlining the impact of lifestyle changes on greenhouse gas emissions and how to foster lifestyle changes through policies
Behaviour changeFive ways behavioural science can transform climate change actionArticle0:10:00A short blog piece that links behavioural science (how do we change our habits?) to climate change interventions
Behaviour changeCase studiesDocument1:00:00A document outlining the four case studies that we have selected to introduce behaviour change campaigns

Further reading

ThemeTitleTypeTimeDetails
Behaviour changeBehaviour change, public engagement and Net ZeroReport1:00:00This extensive research paper by Imperial College London shows how behaviour change principles and public engagement can be used for working toward Net Zero goals. The executive summary and first chapter are particularly relevant to our course.
Behaviour changeCommunicating low-carbon lifestylesWebinar1:00:00This webinar summarises the findings of the Climate Outreach report linked in the essential reading above.
Behaviour changeLevers of Behaviour ChangeWebsite0:20:00An overview of six categories of intervention strategies that can help change behaviour.
Behaviour changeCriteria for Behaviour Change InterventionsReport0:30:00This report aims to provide a framework on how to assess how successful environmental interventions and projects have been.
Behaviour changeWaltham Forest Mini HollandWebsite0:15:00Enjoy Waltham Forest website, providing information about the programme
Behaviour changeRepair CafésWebsite0:15:00The original Repair Cafe website, outlining what it is and where they can be found.
Behaviour changeCarmarthenshire EnergyWebsite0:15:00The community energy scheme's own website.
Behaviour changePlastic Free CommunitiesWebsite0:15:00Surfers Against Sewage website outlining the framework and network.