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Role of Emotions in Climate Change Communication

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Handbook of Climate Change Communication: Vol. 1

Part of the book series: Climate Change Management ((CCM))

Abstract

Climate change is increasingly becoming a challenging issue for policy makers and societies, but the question is why the public does not pay more attention to this issue. Climate change is a complex environmental, cultural, social, psychological and political issue. What role, if any, do emotions play in the public’s beliefs about climate change and support for climate policies? Several studies show that emotions affect people’s views on climate change. Empirical studies show that communicators can use emotions to motivate and support climate change solutions. However, emotions are the missing link in effective communication about climate change. The aim of this paper is to discuss the potential role that emotions play in climate change communication. The paper concludes that emotions are the missing link in climate change communication. It is important to know what motivates the audience to behave in certain ways and what might inspire them to change that behaviour. There is an urgent need to consider emotional aspects when we discuss the implications of climate change and how to communicate adaptation and mitigation to climate change.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Sefat Salama & Khalil Aboukoura

Authors
  1. Sefat Salama
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  2. Khalil Aboukoura
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Correspondence to Sefat Salama .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, Orestiada, Greece

    Evangelos Manolas

  3. Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  4. Department of Biology and CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Ulisses M. Azeiteiro

  5. University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

    Henry McGhie

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Salama, S., Aboukoura, K. (2018). Role of Emotions in Climate Change Communication. In: Leal Filho, W., Manolas, E., Azul, A., Azeiteiro, U., McGhie, H. (eds) Handbook of Climate Change Communication: Vol. 1. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69838-0_9

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