26 September 2024 – Experts from science, journalism, local government and non-governmental organisations are calling for a change of direction in how we communicate about climate issues. The call was published today on the occasion of the K3 Congress on climate communication, attended by around 370 participants in Graz. It is now open for signatures.
The main aim of the charter, which comprises 21 points, is to define guidelines for a new approach to climate communication. "The new climate communication activates people and motivates them to take action. The goal is to bring about change at both a societal and a personal level," the charter states.
The charter is aimed in particular at institutions and individuals who communicate professionally or through civic engagement about the climate crisis and climate protection. It is therefore intended as guidance for the climate policy debate. At the same time, it sees itself as a signpost for "good professional practice" in practical communication — that is, for the work of climate protection officers in local councils, as well as for experts in climate research, transport specialists, or heating engineers talking to their customers about new heating systems.
On this point, Marie-Luise Beck, Managing Director of the German Climate Consortium and co-initiator of the charter, emphasises: "We want to focus on the opportunities of a climate-friendly life, rather than getting drawn into debates that are mainly about defending the status quo."
A signal through prominent founding signatories
The charter promotes a shared vision around the key priorities of climate communication. Prominent founding signatories lend this a strong signal effect. Among the roughly 80 founding signatories are climate researchers Johan Rockström, John Schellnhuber, Reto Knutti, Sonia Seneviratne and Otmar Edenhofer, actress and producer Maria Furtwängler, meteorologist Karsten Schwanke, physician and cabaret artist Eckart von Hirschhausen, author George Marshall, and psychologists Cornelia Betsch, Elke Weber, Ellen Matthes, Thomas Brudermann and Katharina van Bronswijk.
Moving away from fear-based communication and towards actionable options
The initiators of the charter lament that many people experience conversations about climate protection as polarising. Previous calls to action have failed to have the desired effect:
"Warning people about the threatening changes to the climate system in ever more drastic terms doesn't go far enough," the charter states. "All too often, such communication paralyses, unsettles and polarises — particularly when it only identifies problems and risks without pointing to solutions and options for action."
When it comes to solutions, there is "frequently a perfectionist assumption that climate protection is only possible if you find solutions free of contradictions."
"With this charter, we want to move away from fear-based communication," says Carel Mohn, editor-in-chief of the Klimafakten portal and one of the charter's initiators. This applies to climate policy too. "Instead of alarming people with 'five-to-midnight' rhetoric, we should be focusing on solutions."
Invitation to sign
The charter was published on 26 September as part of the K3 Congress on climate communication in Graz. Now in its fourth edition, the K3 Congress is the largest German-language gathering of science and practice on climate communication.
Interested individuals from science, business and society are invited to sign the charter. It can be found on the K3 Congress website:
k3-klimakongress.org/grazer-charta-der-klimakommunikation
Initiators of the charter and contacts for media enquiries:
- Carel Mohn, Klimafakten, carel.mohn@klimafakten.de , Tel. +49.30.172313 6154
- Christopher Schrader, journalist
- Marie-Luise Beck, German Climate Consortium
- Severin Marty, Proclim (Swiss Academy of Sciences SCNAT)
- Martha Stangl, Climate Change Centre Austria
Read the press release!
