Overline: UNFCCC Side Event at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt

Headline: Innovative communication formats for mobilizing climate action

Monday, November 14, 2022 from 11:30-13:00 EET
Room Thutmose plus live streaming on the UNFCCC YouTube channel

It is abundantly clear that communicating the facts of climate change is not enough to set climate action in motion. Climate communication needs to go beyond informing about climate change and move towards mobilizing and supporting climate action. In our side event we present a variety of communication approaches that aim to shorten the distance between science and policy, and between knowledge and action. We will then engage in an active discussion on how to make climate communication efforts more effective and action-oriented.

Agenda

Introduction and moderation by Kathleen Mar, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS)

Panel discussion including impulse presentations from:

• Thomas Jung, Alfred Wegner Institute (AWI) – Images of the future via climate models
  Climate models are extremely complex and don't have the reputation of being accessible and understandable for a wide audience. But Thomas Jung and his team have been developing a modeling system that has the potential to make (future) climate change impacts more tangible for all– by modeling future weather and not just future climate.
• Louis Celliers, Helmholtz Zentrum Hereon – Shortening the distance between science and policy
  There is a complex interaction between pollution, climate change, the environment and people. This complex interplay of actions and impacts is particularly relevant in coastal regions, where the land meets the sea. Using the development of a climate-smart coastal toolbox as an example, Louis Celliers will reflect upon the role of communication within the co-creation process and the elements necessary for translating science into action.
• María Máñez Costa, Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS) – Climate services: Co-creative research approaches
  Climate services aim at producing usable and effective climate information products. This is greatly aided by co-creative processes that engage all stakeholders and potential users including regulators, public authorities, and the private sector during all phases of the project. María Máñez Costa will share a researcher's perspective on development of climate services and reflect on the type of communication necessary support the integration of climate information into decision-making processes.
• Charlotte Unger, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) – Citizen climate assemblies
  Citizen climate assemblies are participatory processes in which a randomly selected and heterogenous group of citizens are invited to work together for period to develop climate policy recommendations, with the intention that these are integrated into a political decision-making process. This format has been gaining popularity worldwide and has been applied in local, national, and global contexts. Charlotte Unger will present her experience in accompanying the Berlin (Germany) Citizen Climate Assembly and reflect on the format's potential as a climate policy participation instrument and format for climate communication.
• Omnia El Omrani, COP27 Youth Envoy – Amplifying youth voices within the COPs
  As the official Youth Envoy for COP27, Omnia El Omrani is committed to empowering young people and supporting their inclusion within COP27. She will reflect on some of the key insights she has gained from this work and share her views on the type of communication necessary to drive climate action.

Closing remarks by Mark Lawrence, Director, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS)

With partners: