Messages on climate change must sound more realistic for people to connect better. Can comedy help?
Climate change is definitely no laughing matter. But a new campaign from the UK is trying to translate the complexities of climate science using the sharpest armament of all: comedy, according to Forbes. Read on to find out.
Making an often scary subject sound more realistic and urgent
The Climate Science Translated project is bringing climate scientists and stand-up comedians together in order to make an often scary subject sound more realistic, in order to help the global community better understand the urgency of taking climate action.
“Bad weather used to mean ‘don’t forget your umbrella’; now it means possible death,” said stand-up Nish Kumar in response to testimony from climate scientist Fredi Otto about the rapidly intensifying extreme weather events.
Governments and corporations moving too slowly
Climate Science Translated doesn’t use the sort of sober language you’ll hear from David Attenborough – but that’s the point, said Otto, senior lecturer in climate science at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London.
The expert makes the point that humanity currently has all the knowledge and technology it requires to address the raging climate emergency, and yet governments and corporations across the globe are still moving too slowly. The Doomsday Clock has been reset to just 90 seconds to midnight.
“What’s behind this inaction is, to large degree, the interests of industries that make money from status quo,” Forbes quoted her as saying. “They have been extremely influential, and keep up this narrative that the status quo is the best possible world we could ever live in.”
Reason behind using comedians for climate messaging
The campaign from the UK is the brainchild of British entrepreneur Nick Oldridge, and creative agency Utopia Bureau. Oldridge expressed surprise over the staggering number of people who knew what climate change was but had no idea about timescales.
“They thought it’s something that’s going to happen a long time from now in places far away,” the entrepreneur mentioned, noting the reason behind using comedians for climate messaging as comedy can communicate in ways that aren’t available to other people.
“Scientists are cautious,” he further mentioned, elaborating that comedians, on the other hand, “can speak much more freely”. Moreover, cultural messaging – from comedy to literature – is likely to prove instrumental in enabling societies to respond appropriately.
Better translate climate science for people to better understand
Research carried out in the UK by Climate Science Breakthrough of around 1,600 respondents indicates that three-quarters of the public don’t believe governments are doing enough to fight the climate crisis, and 71% are concerned about their children’s future.
NPR recently noted in a report that only three out of 10 Americans see the ongoing climate emergency as a clear and present issue, highlighting that experts believe the way we talk about climate change directly impacts the public response toward global warming.
