According to a study published in the Global Environmental Change scientific journal, the media’s coverage of climate research fails to prompt action and inspire pro-environmental behaviors to address the issue. Researchers analysed about 50,000 scientific publications on climate change for the year 2020 and examined which ones were picked up by the mainstream media.
They found that the media tends to focus on long-term projections or threats such as glacier melting or polar bears in danger, among other natural science topics that won’t happen for many years. The study warned that this approach could lead to a ‘possible distancing reaction on the part of the public’ and provoke denial and avoidance instead of pro-environmental behaviors.
The research by a group of researchers at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) specialising in geosciences and psychology suggested that the media should demonstrate how climate change has direct consequences on our lifestyles, immediate environment, or finances to inspire action. The study suggested that fear created by large-scale threats such as climate change can lead the public to ignore the issue or seek out less worrying information. Instead, the media should present environmental issues in a ‘solution-oriented way’ and highlight potential solutions to the problem.
Co-author Marie-Elodie Perga, a professor at the UNIL Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, recommended that the media should strive to ‘show that climate change has direct consequences on our lifestyles, our immediate environment, or our finances’. Another co-author, Fabrizio Butera, a UNIL psychology professor, warned that media coverage can be harmful and that ‘individuals exposed to these facts, not feeling directly concerned by them, will tend towards a peripheral, superficial, and distracted treatment of the information.’
The researchers argued that fear can lead to behavioral change, but only if the problem presented is accompanied by solutions. Selective and purely descriptive articles that only highlight the negative aspects of climate change can be counterproductive and may result in people ignoring the problem altogether. Therefore, the study emphasised the importance of inspiring a sense of empowerment to address the issue, rather than solely focusing on the negative impacts of climate change.
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