Just the FAQs: Turning Climate Questions into Climate Understanding and Action

Paper Title: Co-developing the IPCC frequently asked questions as an effective science communication tool

Author(s) and Year: Connors, S.L., Nicolai, M., Berger, S. et al., 2022

Journal: Climatic Change (open access)

TL;DR: This study focuses on how scientists co-developed and tested a standardized list of climate science-based FAQs (frequently asked questions) to improve climate science communication with audiences outside of academia. 

Why I chose this paper: I chose this paper because it focuses on a global issue (climate change) and how a global organization (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC) attempts to improve science communication on this issue. I also liked that the paper recommends that scientists, academics, and researchers collaborate with communication(s) professionals to produce more effective science communication messages, a common sense-based recommendation that is also supported by the research conducted in this study. 

For too many public audiences, climate scientists do not answer the questions about climate change that matter most, leading to people losing interest. In this study, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) tested a potential solution to this science communication problem by working with non-scientists in the co-development of a standardized list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) tailored for climate science communication. The study found that the “climate FAQs” were an effective science communication tool to improve public understanding and make climate science more accessible, while also encouraging the public’s active engagement in tackling the wicked problem of climate change.

The Background

Climate scientists often struggle with communicating the “science of climate change” to audiences outside of academia because scientists do not have much, or any, in some cases, professional training in the art and skill of communication. That said, the need for effective climate science communication is more urgent than ever. The earth’s temperature has risen significantly due to human activity, leading to an increase in the severity and scope of environmental disasters like extreme heat, flooding, droughts, and wildfires.

Unfortunately, climate scientists continue to experience difficulty translating scientific information into accessible knowledge that the public can use to mitigate, or lessen the impact of, climate change. For example, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes comprehensive reports that detail the state of the planet’s climate. However, IPCC reports are often thousands of pages of scientific language, technical terms, and acronyms that people are unfamiliar with and do not understand, leading to a lack of interest. 

The Research Question

Fortunately, the IPCC not only realized this science communication issue, but also decided to remove this barrier to understanding climate science by including a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) within its reports to make their content easier to understand and process. But even though FAQs are widely used in IPCC reports, no one had evaluated their effectiveness after they were published. This study’s authors aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the IPCC FAQs in bridging the gap between climate science and public understanding by answering the following two questions:

1. What types of FAQs content are the most effective to educate and engage audiences about climate science?
2. How can FAQs be co-developed with multiple stakeholders to better address the needs of diverse audiences?

The Methods

Using content from the IPCC’s sixth assessment report, researchers analyzed the development process and content of FAQs. They conducted workshops with a range of stakeholders—including scientists, educators, and communication experts—to refine the FAQs design. They also tested the FAQs’ effectiveness by gathering feedback from various audiences, including readers of the assessment report. This feedback from multiple groups was crucial in identifying areas where the FAQs were effective, or needed improvement.

The Results

This study of “just the FAQs” found the following results about how FAQs were developed and how effective they were as a climate science communication tool.

Co-development of FAQs content increases accessibility and relevance. Co-development increases accessibility by making content easier to understand. When scientists collaborated with “non-scientists,” professional communicators, and collaborators from marginalized and minoritized populations to develop IPCC FAQs, the language became more accessible. The study’s results found that scientists often use technical terms and jargon that do not easily translate to non-scientists and should be clearly defined. For example, scientists define the word “model” as a representation of a process within research, while non-scientists define a “model” as a person, like Chrissy Teigen or Naomi Campbell. 

Tailored FAQs content increases relevance for targeted audiences.

Co-development increases accessibility by making content easier to understand, and FAQs should also address the needs of the targeted audience. Since climate change is an overwhelmingly large problem, it must be communicated in the context of its impact on daily life. For example, connecting extreme heat to higher in-home air conditioning costs makes climate change’s negative effects more engaging and memorable, helping audiences feel better equipped to take action.

FAQs should include non-text-based content to actively engage audiences.

FAQs should also include non-text-based content, such as data visualizations, infographics, and videos, to be even more engaging and memorable for audiences.

The Impact 

Effective climate FAQs can lead to climate action. 

This study’s results found that IPCC FAQs are an integral part of communicating climate science to targeted audiences to improve public education, outreach, and engagement, while also bridging the gap between science and society. The co-development of IPCC FAQs—including by scientists, non-scientists, communication experts, and representatives from various groups—is key to providing multiple lenses and perspectives through which to view the complexities of climate change. Co-development also provides a more comprehensive picture of the issue of climate change, making it more accessible, understandable, and actionable for audiences.

The study also found that when IPCC FAQs were clearer, included plain language, and were easier to identify with or understand, audiences were more likely to take action to mitigate, or lessen the impact of, climate change. As described in the previous extreme heat example, telling readers how rising temperatures may increase in-home air conditioning costs makes the concept of climate change easier for audiences to identify with and understand. 

Effective climate communication is not only “just the FAQs;” it is also about ensuring climate science is understood and actionable. This study demonstrated the importance of IPCC FAQs to make climate science more accessible to the public. When climate information is communicated in clear, understandable language, people are better equipped to make fact-based, informed decisions—such as reducing energy consumption or supporting climate legislation and policies—that contribute to meaningful climate action.

Written by Paula R. Buchanan

Edited by Elena Reiriz and Madeline Fisher

Featured image credit: makabera