Climate Justice Communication: Strategies from U.S. Climate Activists

ABSTRACT Despite the rise of climate justice movements worldwide, climate justice concerns are insufficiently addressed in recent U.S. policy, and public understanding is not yet widespread. To explore possible avenues for climate justice communication, this analysis examines U.S. climate activists’ recommended target audiences and communication strategies. Drawing on 67 conversational interviews and 112 online surveys with activists, the analysis discusses strategies for engaging two high-priority audiences: (1) social justice advocates who do not see the climate crisis as a justice issue and (2) climate action advocates who do not view climate justice as integral to climate solutions. The analysis also identifies a low-priority audience category of climate justice deniers, or people who—independent of their views on the climate crisis itself—are apathetic to its social justice implications. These results propose a novel audience segmentation for climate justice communication and consolidate activists’ recommendations for engaging each audience, thus providing a grounding for further experimental work.