Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

We are pleased to announce the publication of a new study, entitled “Breaking the climate silence: Predictors of discussing global warming with family and friends” in the journal PLOS Climate. 

Previous research has shown that although a majority of Americans believe global warming is happening (72%), are worried about it (63%), and support various climate policies, only about a third (36%) of Americans discuss global warming with friends and family. Given the importance of interpersonal communication in spurring climate awareness and action, we sought to identify the factors associated with how often people discuss climate change.

Using data from three waves of our nationally representative Climate Change in the American Mind survey, we found that people are more likely to discuss global warming with family and friends when they:

• Believe global warming to be a risk
• Are worried about global warming
• Perceive others to be making an effort to reduce global warming
• Perceive that their peers find it important to take action to reduce global warming
• Hear about global warming in the media

We encourage further investigation into the content of climate conversations – when people discuss climate change, do they talk about solutions? Doom and gloom? Politics? We also suggest that climate communicators emphasize the messages above to encourage climate discussion among audience members. For example, messages that emphasize the dangers of climate change, but also show large local or national support for climate solutions, may in turn cause people to talk about these solutions with their peers. 

Want to know more about how to break the cycle of silence? Check out these resources:

• How to talk about climate change: Ask questions
• How you can use a ‘truth sandwich’ to fight climate misinformation
• 3 strategies for effectively talking about climate change