www.ijsc-online.org | IJSC 3 (2008): 119-132

TOWARD A DEEPER ENGAGEMENT OF THE U.S. PUBLIC ON CLIMATE CHANGE: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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Susanne C. Moser

Abstract: The next president of the United States of America will need to seriously address climate change. This paper argues that his or her success will require active public engagement. Climate change communication in the U.S. to date has produced high problem awareness and expressions of generic policy support but only shallow understanding, a still limited sense of urgency, and little active engagement beyond the first few easy steps on the long road of climate protection. This paper reviews indicators of public sentiment and understanding and discusses the implications for a comprehensive national outreach and engagement campaign. Seven principles of audience-specific “retail” communication are proposed to guide future efforts to more deeply engage the American public.

Keywords: communication campaign, US public understanding of climate change, political engagement, behavior change