Most people already accept the climate crisis is real and human caused. So why does it still feel like we’re stuck?
Rethinking our strategy, energy, and role in climate communication
Let’s start with the truth:
If you’re still spending most of your energy trying to convince people that climate change is real, you might be fighting yesterday’s battle.
Not because climate denial isn’t still out there. It absolutely is—just look at Congress.
But because polling from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC) shows we aren’t as divided as you may think.
The YPCCC conducts scientific studies on public opinion and behavior to inform the decision-making of governments, media, companies, and NGOs; and educate the public about climate change.
According to their latest report (Spring 2025):
52% of registered voters think global warming should be a high or very high priority for the president and Congress.
64% of registered voters think developing sources of clean energy should be a high or very high priority for the president and Congress.
79% of registered voters support U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Agreement.
65% oppose President Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
74% of registered voters say the U.S. should use more renewable energy than it does today and 57% say the U.S. should use less fossil fuels than it does today.
78% of registered voters say schools should teach children about global warming’s causes, consequences, and potential solutions.
88% support federal funding to help farmers improve practices to protect and restore the soil so it absorbs and stores more carbon.
80% support funding more research into renewable energy sources.
75% support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant.
71% support tax credits or rebates to encourage people to buy electric appliances, such as heat pumps and induction stoves.
67% support transitioning the U.S. economy from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050.
63% support requiring fossil fuel companies to pay for the damages caused by global warming.
76% of registered voters support generating renewable energy on public land in the U.S.
49% support expanding offshore drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast.
44% support drilling and mining fossil fuels on public land in the U.S.
30% support drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
79% of registered voters support strengthening enforcement of industrial pollution limits in low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by air and water pollution.
79% of registered voters oppose ordering all federal agencies to stop doing research on global warming.
78% oppose ordering all federal agencies to stop providing information about global warming to the public.
75% oppose eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
63% oppose prohibiting the construction of new offshore wind farms.
But this next set of data is probably the most crucial to understand:
80% of registered voters say nobody has ever asked them to contact officials about global warming.
67% say contacting elected officials about global warming wouldn’t make any difference, 63% say they do not contact elected officials about global warming because they are not an activist, 62% say they don’t know which elected officials to contact, 54% wouldn’t know what to say, 52% would feel uncomfortable doing so, 48% say they are too busy, 47% say it’s too much effort, 42% say it’s not important, 38% are concerned about attracting unwanted attention from government authorities, 27% are already taking other actions, and 17% say people will make fun of them or criticize them if they contact elected officials about global warming.
35% of registered voters say they need more information in order to form a firm opinion about global warming.
28% say they could easily change their mind about global warming.
40% of registered voters are at least “moderately confident” that people like them, working together, can affect what the federal government does about global warming, and 40% are confident that they can affect what corporations do about global warming
As you can see, the biggest group in the U.S. isn’t made up of climate deniers. It’s made up of people who are worried but unsure what to do.
People don’t need someone to throw more doom and data in their face. They need guidance.
So what does that mean for those of us who care deeply about science, communication, and justice?
It means we need to shift our strategy.
Because this fight was never just about belief.
It’s about who has the power.
Our job isn’t just to correct people. It’s to connect with them.
We’re not just up against misinformation. We’re up against systems.
It’s important to understand that most climate misinformation today isn’t homegrown—it’s manufactured.
Fossil fuel companies, PR firms, and political interests have spent decades crafting campaigns designed not necessarily to change your mind, but to stall your action. To make climate seem confusing, controversial, or far away.
So yes, fighting misinformation still matters. But it’s less about winning debates with individuals and more about understanding the forces behind the confusion.
If you’re arguing with trolls on the internet while oil companies rake in record profits, your energy isn’t just being misused—it’s being manipulated.
Energetic efficiency is a rule in biology. It should be a rule in activism, too.
Neuroscience, education, and empathy tell us:
People don’t change their minds through confrontation.
They change through curiosity, compassion, and connection.
Books like How People Learn II and Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain explain that:
Preconceptions shape how we interpret new information, and if those aren’t explicitly addressed and held in contrast to new information, it won’t stick
Emotions and identity often outweigh facts.
People need to feel safe and respected before they can process challenging truths.
So instead of debating belief, we need to ask:
What’s getting in the way of action? What’s missing from the story?
Often, the answer is: Relevance. Trust. A Sense of Agency.
So then, where should we put our energy?
Climate change isn’t just about emissions, data points, or policies—it’s about people.
And the way we reach people isn’t through charts. It’s through stories.
Stories let us humanize the impacts, ground global issues in local realities, help people see themselves as agents of change, and offer hope without false optimism.
Whether you’re sharing your own story, uplifting your community’s work, or imagining a better future, storytelling turns concern into connection—and connection into commitment.
Rather than spending hours online trying to win debates, we can:
Focus on the quiet majority who already believe (oh, that brilliant, beautiful, baggage-ridden word), but feel overwhelmed.
Connect climate to the issues people already care about:
Housing
Migration
Healthcare
Food
Jobs
Safety
Justice
Education
Freedom
Retirement
Their Children’s Future
Highlight stories of solutions, resilience, and local action.
Center relationship over rhetoric.
Listen with compassion. Lead with humanity. Speak with relevance.
You don’t need to be an expert in everything. The only one demanding that is often right between your ears. You just need to draw the thread between what’s happening and what matters to people right now, right where they live.
A better climate story isn’t about guilt. It’s about belonging.
We’ve tried facts. We’ve tried fear. But what people need is something else:
A sense that they matter.
That their voice belongs in this movement.
That this crisis connects to everything they already care about, and they already have something to offer.
Instead of rushing to correct, ask more questions.
This is incredibly powerful when addressing uncertainty or disengagement.
“What worries you most about the future?”
“How does the environment affect your family or community?”
“What would a healthy future look like for you?”
This approach allows people to hold their existing ideas in contrast with new perspectives—something cognitive science shows is key to deeper, stickier learning.
Compassionate questions create psychological space. That’s where change begins.
Next time you feel tempted to argue with a denier in some pseudo-anonymous social media comment section, ask yourself:
Is this where my energy will make the most impact?
Helping the Quiet Majority Take Action
While an angry minority grabs headlines, a much larger group already wants climate action but feels unsure of where to start.
You can help by giving people simple, concrete, accessible actions to take:
Scripts and contact info for calling their Congressional representatives
Tools to write effective public comments or local op-eds or letters to the editor
Guidance on joining mutual aid, local conservation, or climate justice efforts
Resources for sharing their climate story with policymakers
Agency grows when people can see the ripple effect of their voice. They need to see that collective action works. A wonderful recent example? Senator Mike Lee’s complete withdrawal of public lands sale language in the 2025 Senate reconciliation bill. That was the direct result of thousands of people standing up, speaking out, and saying “hands off”.
An area of current focus for me? I’ve written a letter to the editor and reached out to my Mayor’s Office about adopting a 30x30 resolution to protect 30% of city-owned land and water by 2030—something I’ll be sharing more of here as things evolve.
Where to Refocus Your Energy
Stop:
Arguing with the loudest skeptics
Leading with doom, shame, or abstraction
Treating climate as disconnected from daily life
Start:
Tying climate to housing, healthcare, food, work, and justice
Offering culturally responsive, locally grounded conversations
Amplifying solutions and collective wins
Listening with curiosity
Asking better questions
It’s Time to Adapt
If you’ve been feeling like your communication efforts aren’t landing, you’re not alone. You’re not doing it wrong—you may just be ready to shift tactics.
The data is clear: the public is far more aligned than we believe
What’s missing is the guidance to act, the stories to connect, and the relationships to sustain change.
You don’t have to fight every fire.
Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is nurture the sparks already burning around you.
Coming soon:
In a follow-up post, I’ll share examples of:
How to draw connections between “non-climate” issues and the climate crisis
What culturally responsive climate messaging looks like
Practical, local, accessible calls to action you can share with your audience, including: LTE how-to’s and templates, how to navigate your first phone call to a Senator or Representative, and more!
It’s time to move past climate communication as a means to inform and use it as a tool to transform.