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Engaging the Public on Climate Change

We believe individuals and communities should be at the heart of shaping a place-based transition to net-zero by 2050

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Principles for climate action

Our work is guided by an emerging vision for what public engagement around climate change should include.

To tackle the big climate change issues we believe that enabling adaptability and learning, designing for justice and inclusion from the outset, and embracing complexity should be at the heart of efforts.

Enabling adaptability and learning

Public engagement is primed for learning instead of control; it encourages experimentation and seeks out regular and sustained feedback from the public as it learns, improves, and evolves.

Designing for inclusion

Public engagement foregrounds inclusion and justice; reaching out to seldom-heard communities, making active attempts to counter exclusion through capacity-building, support, and creating safe, trusted spaces for the public to discuss climate change issues.

Embracing complexity

Public Engagement enables multilevel, multi-sectoral partnerships and collaboration across government policies on climate change, business, civic and climate change organisations, and the public. It supports changes in thinking, values, and behaviour through sustained long-term public engagement.

Understanding public engagement around climate change

Our Public Engagement for Net-Zero Literature Review builds an understanding of different approaches to engaging the public on climate change, and the strengths and limitations of each type.

Download your copy to learn how you can apply the learnings to your climate action efforts.

  • Communication on climate change:

    This explores how the framing of the message, the legitimacy of the messenger, and the values and identities of the audience impact the effectiveness of communication around climate change.

  • Collaboration or deliberation on climate change:

    This explores mechanisms of collaboration (grassroots citizen movements) and deliberation (eg: Citizen Assemblies) around climate change, climate policy and the conditions necessary to support these processes and ensure inclusion.

  • Engagement around climate interventions:

    This draws out how public engagement can effectively incentivise sustainable consumption and pro-environmental behaviour at an individual, social and systems level.

Download The Public Engagement for Net-Zero Literature Review

Inspiration for building public engagement on climate change

Our Public Engagement in Climate Change Case Study Compendium provides practitioners with a framework to unpack the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to public engagement which can be applied to discussions around climate change. 

Each Case Study sparks dialogue on how processes can be made more adaptive to evolving local conditions, more inclusive and socially just, and better able to embrace the complexity and uncertainty of climate and global warming issues.


Download the Public Engagement on Climate Change Case Study Compendium

Watch the webinar: How to engage the public around climate change

Hear from Apolitical, CPI's Chandrima Padmanabhan, experts and practitioners as they discuss public engagement around climate change, including what constitutes effective methods of communication, collaboration and engagement around policy interventions.

Case studies

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Want to apply our principles and framework to your own public engagement efforts?

If you’re working to make public engagement around climate change more effective, impactful and inclusive, or you’re looking for help in the process, get in touch to share your story.

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