Climate Communications Training
2025 Climate Communications Training Series
This training series was designed to help practitioners and community leaders use communications as a tool to inspire climate action.
This Climate Communications Training Series was designed and delivered as a practical companion to unpack and practice the strategies included in the Climate Communications Toolkit. Offered as a three-part online training, this series allowed participants to dive into practical strategies to use communications to support climate action. Whether you are new to communications or looking to sharpen your skills, watch replays to:
- Dive into behavioural communications concepts, approaches, and strategies that drive action;
- Develop and/or sharpen your communication skills; and,
- Take away insights you can start putting into practice right away.
The training series was offered by ICLEI Canada through the Ontario Resource Centre for Climate Adaptation (ORCCA) in January and February 2025, as a companion to the Climate Communications Toolkit.
Week 1: Behavioural strategies to inspire climate action
Watch this replay to learn how to apply behavioural insights to climate communications in order to drive local action. In this session, participants:
- Learned about the Climate Communications Toolkit (0:05:10)
- Explored how climate communications has evolved (0:16:46)
- Discovered behavioural strategies that can be integrated into climate communications to support local action (0:59:04)
This session set the context for the whole training series, included an overview of the Climate Communications Toolkit, and featured several case stories in addition to content from the playbook.
Week 2: The art of messaging and storytelling
Watch this replay to learn how to transform abstract concepts and data into relatable, emotional narratives that drive local action. In this session, participants:
- Learned why emotions and feelings matter and how to define an audience with this in mind (0:15:00)
- Explored how storytelling can make climate messaging resonate on a personal level (0:27:45)
- Practiced using storytelling and other behavioural strategies to develop compelling messaging (0:56:30)
This session featured guest speaker Ian Mauro, Executive Director of the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions and Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria. Ian discussed how storytelling can be used to make climate messaging resonate on a personal level and shared examples of how this can be done.
Week 3: Optimize your communications
Watch this replay to learn how to deliver effective communication campaigns, measure impact, and stay responsive. In this session, participants:
- Discovered examples of Credit Valley Conservation’s (CVC) action-oriented climate communications (0:11:23)
- Learned how the concept of a communication journey can be used as a tool to plan, deliver, and measure the results of action-oriented climate communications (0:41:20)
- Explored what mapping a communication journey might look like in practice (1:11:00)
This session featured guest speakers Christine Zimmer, Chief Specialist of Watershed and Climate Change Risk Science and Jessica Hamilton, Coordinator or Sustainable Neighbourhoods with CVC. Christine and Jessica shared examples of CVC’s climate communications efforts, lessons learned, and ways they use communications to motivate action.
Additional Resources From the Climate Communications Toolkit
Read the playbook
Learn more about the communications and behavioural strategies featured in the trainings. The Climate Communications Playbook:Behavioural strategies for community action is a practical primer for municipal practitioners, elected officials, and community leaders looking to use communications and behavioural insights to support the implementation of local climate action.
Explore 30 case stories
A series of case stories have been compiled to exemplify how behavioural communications strategies can be used to support climate action in the real world. These case stories are meant to serve as a starting point for inspiration by offering practical examples that can be adapted to suit your climate communications needs and challenges.
This training was offered as part of the Climate Communications Toolkit by ICLEI Canada through the Ontario Resource Centre for Climate Adaptation (ORCCA)—a pilot initiative led by ICLEI Canada and supported by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Financial support is also provided by the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change Canada.
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We respectfully acknowledge that ICLEI Canada’s work happens across Turtle Island which has traditionally been and is home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples since time immemorial.