Urgency of communicating climate change

Climate change is one of the most important global environmental challenges, with implications for food production, water supply, health, energy, etc. Addressing climate change requires a good scientific understanding as well as coordinated action at national and global level. This paper addresses these challenges. There are many temperature dependant phenomenons that also indicate the earth is warming. Scientists suggest that the cause for increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2) and ultimately for planetary warming are anthropogenic activities. It has been twenty three years since 'the summer of 1988' and the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Since that time, global climate change has emerged as the most intensely researched and discussed environmental issue ever, with many millions of dollars being spent on efforts to understand causes, anticipate future climatic conditions and their associated impacts, and consider appropriate responses. Despite the abundance of expert knowledge on these topics, and the many communication efforts, greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase in most jurisdictions and societal vulnerability to climate variability and change remains high. This raises questions about the effectiveness of past and present efforts to communicate relevant information to the various publics and policymakers. It also raises questions about the role of information in moving forward on the climate change agenda. Communication involves imparting knowledge with the intent of raising awareness and promoting understanding. In many contexts, such as environmental education and emergency planning, communication is thought to be effective only when these changes in awareness and understanding result in attitudinal adjustments and/or improve the basis upon which decisions are made.