Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

After a community-based climate task force identified the need for dedicated staff to address climate solutions, the City and County of Denver established an Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency. Since the department’s launch five years ago, they’ve set ambitious goals to decarbonize the electric grid by 2050, created programs to empower Denverites through the Green Workforce Training Program, and launched communication and behavior change campaigns that have inspired hope and motivated action on climate change.

Monica Dwight from YPCCC’s Partnerships Program recently interviewed Chelsea Warren, Marketing Communication Manager at Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency, to learn more about the organization’s approach to climate communication, successes and challenges of engaging their audiences, and their partnership with YPCCC. 

Monica: You’ve been with the City and County of Denver for over ten years. How has their approach to climate communication changed over time, and what have you learned along the way?

Chelsea: I started with the city in 2015 as an intern with the Technology Services department, but my goal was always to work in sustainability. At the time, the sustainability department consisted of a mayoral appointee and a Public Information Officer, a common arrangement in many cities and counties across the U.S. 

In 2020, a small part of the Mayor’s Office dedicated to sustainability was transformed into this office, Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency. The community had come together, and in 2019, the city hosted a climate action task force to determine what would move the needle on climate change. They recommended creating a dedicated funding source, the Climate Protection Fund, which voters approved in November 2020 with 62% support. The sales and use tax generates almost $50 million a year to cut carbon pollution and help our city adapt to a changing climate. I was hired in December 2021, as the seventeenth hire. Today, we’re a staff of approximately sixty people. 

When I first started, we were trying to get money out the door quickly and impactfully. A lot of the projects were pilots. Today, we’re a more mature office, so we can take a more holistic approach to research and identify the specific areas where we can make a difference. We recently launched a behavior change marketing campaign called the Denver Climate Project. Bolstered by the research and programming we have now, this project is further reaching and more impactful than the communications we did in 2021.

Monica: What is the role of local government in climate communication?

Chelsea: Climate change is one of the biggest crises that our society is facing, and it’s already causing a lot of harm and anxiety. When it comes to climate communication, local governments are strategically positioned to localize the problem. When we think about climate change, the first thing that comes to mind is polar bears, but polar bears don’t motivate people to change their behavior. 

During COVID-19, I worked on the city’s emergency response. A big thing I took away from emergency response communication is that all disaster recovery starts locally before scaling up. For me, climate response starts locally; it localizes the problem and the solutions. This gives people hope. 

Monica: You said that you have a dedicated government climate communications team, which might not be as common in local government. If you were to advise other local governments on how you could build a climate communications team, what insights might you share?

Chelsea: First, you often have to prove that communications is worth investing in. 

That might mean starting small, like a small marketing campaign, to show how targeted outreach can drive measurable impact. In turn, this might indicate the need for a new marketing professional, like a Public Information Officer. Having at least one person to help tell you the story of your department, using a tool like Critical Mention or Meltwater that tracks media engagement, or being able to get your story in the news is worth tens of thousands of marketing dollars, but you need someone who has the time, expertise, and the relationships with the media to get your message out there. 

I was the second communications person hired. Now I have two staff members, and together, we manage many marketing contracts and oversee a large budget.

Since then, we’ve continued to prove ourselves. When the Climate Protection Fund was audited last year, the auditor called out that we’re communicating effectively with the public: getting the word out about how people’s tax dollars are being used and being transparent. People are rightfully distrustful of government, especially communities of color and historically disadvantaged groups, and our work helps connect them to funding and resources. Letting people know that Denver is taking action on climate change builds trust in the community. 

Monica: How has your organization used YPCCC resources or insights in developing your climate communication, messaging, and strategy?

Chelsea: I use YPCCC resources in a variety of ways. First, I use the insights internally. It’s a great way to remind my program managers who are communicating one-on-one with the public about what is resonating and which messaging we should use. No matter our profession, we tend to get very technical. But the more technical we are, the less the general public understands us. They don’t live and breathe the circular economy. They don’t live and breathe decarbonization. So YPCCC’s research reminds me to remind them to skip using the word “decarbonization,” because they might not know what it means. Beyond understanding the message, talking in ways that resonate is how you build coalitions and partnerships. 

I also use YPCCC insights when pitching reporters. Last summer, we conducted a rapid response to deliver air conditioning window units to people’s homes. Based on community extreme heat summits, we found that this was the number one urgent need. So, when I was pitching this story to reporters, I wanted them to highlight the climate angle. Because of our office’s efforts, more people now have cooling for the first time. The YPCCC resources help us to localize climate information for reporters and for the public in Denver.

Monica: How does your organization support communities that are most vulnerable to climate change? 

Chelsea: When we talk to communities at the highest risk of being negatively impacted by climate change, we find that they don’t necessarily need to be educated about the threats; they already know the impacts and causes, and are seeking accessible solutions. Our Climate Protection Fund endeavors that over 50% of the funds are spent in communities that disproportionately bear the impacts of climate change, and these community members are passionate partners in our climate work.

We recently completed the first phase of the Denver Climate Project campaign. Through our post-campaign research, we found that people from communities that experience the most negative impacts of climate change are also more likely to take future actions. The people closest to the pain often are the most motivated to act. In our study, this included individuals from lower income households; individuals of Hispanic/Latino, Black, Asian Pacific and Native American race/ethnicity; and individuals living in neighborhoods experiencing significant change. They are concerned about climate change and really want the tools and resources to get to work. And many of these marginalized communities have been leading the way on climate solutions. For example, a lot of these communities have been reusing for decades, and we need to celebrate those efforts and bring them in as climate champions and activists. Environmentalism isn’t just about farmers markets and electric vehicles; there’s so many ways to participate.

Monica: How does your organization remain hopeful and inspired to build public and political will in the climate movement?

Chelsea: I read a lot of articles about how climate anxiety is crippling younger generations, and I think of it all the time. This one article in Curbed talked about how this woman was so distressed by climate change that she started cleaning up trash in her local park, and how that mental break saved her. A small action like cleaning up a park won’t save the glaciers or solve our plastic pollution problem. But for her, just doing something mattered. Starting with simple steps brings people up the ladder of engagement—toward bigger changes like installing a heat pump or taking the bus more often. And when we see others acting, we’re more likely to join in. That’s how individual choices ripple outward, shifting norms, influencing policy, and creating systemic change. I feel a lot more hopeful about the climate crisis working in local climate action. It is one of the defining crises of our era and doing something about it is so helpful. 

I’m also glad I get to hear and share stories of life changes resulting from our work. From people getting air conditioning in their homes for the first time, to the story of a family of four who used their e-cargo bike so much that they got rid of their second car, the programming and communications work we do have transformed people’s lives. Our Green Workforce Training Program offered solar technician training at an affordable housing site in Denver. Because of this program, a man who was incarcerated just a couple of years ago is now building his way up to being an electrician. An individual who served as a translator during the Iraq War is now training to become a solar technician. We had a church where they changed to LEDs and they cut their bill from $1200 to $100 a month. We have restaurant owners who got reusable plates through our pilot program, and they’re saving thousands of dollars a year. It’s hard to be a small business owner and sustainability is making it cheaper to run their operations. Everyone’s motivators are really different, but the co-benefits are so important. Each of those people’s lives is better because we’re investing money and resources in climate action. We’re trying to solve this global issue, but it’s also an opportunity to make our society better, to make it healthier and more connected. Something our executive director often says is that all climate solutions are quality-of-life solutions. They make your life cheaper and they make your air cleaner. We’re tackling this huge problem that can feel insurmountable, but we’re also improving people’s lives. 

When we did listening sessions with Denverites for the Denver Climate Project, initially, when people were asked how they felt about climate change, most people felt frustrated and hopeless, not knowing what to do. After just an hour of discussing climate action, participants reported feeling hopeful and optimistic. What we’re seeing in Denver is that just talking about climate action and the many ways people can help address it makes them more willing to take action. YPCCC research also shows that most people are at least “somewhat worried” about climate change. After decades of making people really concerned, now we need to move them to action. Denver is leading in this work. I’m a big proponent of local government being where the e-bike rubber tire meets the road. It’s where stuff gets done – and I’m grateful to be a part of it.

We thank Chelsea for her time and Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency for their leadership in advancing local climate solutions and communication.