New Century Media

This weekend marks the 35th birthday of the term “global warming”. On Aug. 8, 1975, geoscientist Wallace Smith Broecker, known as Wally, published his report “Are We on the Brink of a Pronounced Global Warming?” in the journal Science, and this was the first time the iconic phrase “global warming” was used in a scientific paper. Broecker was already a prominent scientist by then, having served on Columbia University’s faculty for 16 years. Today, Broecker is recognised as one of the fathers of climate science, with more than 450 journal publications and 10 books to his name, ranging from paleoclimatology to chemical oceanography. We have seen Broekers’s predictions to come into fruition and “climate change” is now regarded by many as the most critical issue facing humans today.

At the UN climate talks in Bonn this week, economist Nicholas Stern told climate negotiators that government regulation and public money will be needed to create incentives for private investment in industries that emit fewer greenhouse gases. In short, he said a new industrial revolution is needed to move the global economies away from fossil fuels to low carbon growth. We have known for some time that changing behaviours to mitigate climate change is no mean feat, it is expensive and unpopular. What is interesting from a communications point of view is Stern’s choice of words. The narrative of climate change has for a long time been doom and gloom. If you read through the largest and most comprehensive resource on climate change impacts, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report AR4 (Working Group 2: http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg2/ar4-wg2-spm.pdf) , the scale of the impacts are unlike anything we have seen. Among the list we see droughts, desertification and starvation which will lead to mass population exodus and severe civil unrest. Nine billion people living off an increasingly strained resource. Not an inspiring picture.
So back to Stern. With reference to the necessary industrial revolution to move the world off fossil fuels, Stern says, “ It will be extremely exciting , dynamic and productive.” These are inspiring words. Who wouldn’t want to be part of a gang having an exciting, dynamic and productive time of it? Count me in. In terms of communication, the climate story needs re-branding. We need to motivate people to change their behaviours, not change the channel. So I congratulate you Nicholas Stern, I want to be part of your story.

Georgie Weedon, New Century Media consultant and Alumnus of the University of Cambridge Climate Leadership Programme