Communicating Climate Data Differently

Making Climate Data More Accessible

Climate data is a valuable resource, but it is often underutilized by many who could benefit from it. In recent years, a wealth of climate data has been made easily available to support informed decision-making across Canada. However, few actively use this resource outside scientists and climate professionals.

Why is this? Part of the reason is that climate data is often presented in a highly technical, abstract way that doesn’t resonate with most people. Yet, this information has practical value for many decision-makers like elected officials, municipal staff, and business owners to name a few. If we want climate data to be used more widely, we need to communicate it—and climate change in general—differently.

Strategies for Communicating Climate Data with Decision-Makers

Our Climate Communications Playbook provides approaches and behavioural strategies to talk about climate change more effectively. The first two steps involve defining what we want to achieve (i.e., the objective of our climate communications) and who our audience is. This is because effective communication relies on having a clear message as well as understanding who we are speaking to and what matters to them.​

When sharing climate data with decision-makers, we need to align messaging with their priorities, address their challenges, and highlight opportunities. It’s also important to include a clear, realistic, and achievable call to action if we want to move beyond information sharing and encourage action. To do this, we can ask ourselves:​

• What decisions are they making that climate data could support?​
• How could this data provide a solution to a problem they face?​
• How could this data be framed as an opportunity?​
• What action can we encourage them to take?

We can also incorporate behavioural insights into the way we frame our messaging. Strategies such as intrinsic value framing (i.e., highlighting what matters most to people) and positive framing (i.e., focusing on the positive outcomes and benefits of taking action) can help transform climate data into a more relatable narrative.​

A Practical Example: Communicating how climate data can support maple syrup production 

A great example of effective climate communication comes from ClimateData.ca, which has been making complex climate information more relatable through articles, podcasts, videos, and social media. We recently worked with them on an article to show how climate data can support maple syrup production in Canada.

Graphic from the Climate Data in Action: Supporting Canada’s maple syrup production article. Image credit: ClimateData.ca.

The article’s objective is to demonstrate how tools and data from ClimateData.ca can help producers, policymakers, and researchers (the audience) make informed decisions to support the future of maple syrup production in Canada. Rather than simply presenting information, the article:​

• Begins by highlighting that maple syrup production has a long history that is deeply rooted in Canadian culture and is a source of national pride (intrinsic values) before moving on to more technical information;
• Aligns with the audience’s priorities by emphasizing the importance of sustaining Canada’s maple syrup industry;
• Presents climate data as a valuable tool for proactive planning that can enable producers to overcome challenges and adapt to changing conditions and provides practical examples of how this can be done (positive framing);
• Offers adaptation strategies to navigate shifting seasonal patterns and make the most of new opportunities, such as earlier sap flow; and,
• Ends with a clear call-to-action that invites the reader to visit ClimateData.ca to find information, tools, and case studies that will help them make climate-informed decisions.

This approach effectively transforms climate data from an abstract concept into a practical resource that can be used to support maple syrup production.​

Read the Climate Data in Action: Supporting Canada’s maple syrup production article on ClimateData.ca.

Use These Strategies in Your Work

You can use a similar approach in your own climate communications. The next time you are writing an article or report, preparing for a presentation, or having a conversation, consider the following:​

• Who is my audience?​
• How can I align what I’m saying with their priorities?​
• Can I provide a solution to a challenge they face?​
• Can I highlight an opportunity that exists for them?​
• What specific, realistic action can I encourage them to take?
• How can I align messaging with intrinsic values and create an emotional connection?​
• Can I frame the information in a positive, empowering way?​

To dive deeper into practical and behavioural strategies for climate communications, and to discover more examples of how these can be applied in the real world, check out the resources included in our Climate Communications Toolkit.