Communicating about
climate change using a
health frame
Fiona Armstrong
convenor@caha.org.au
www.caha.org.au
Who is CAHA?
Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, Public Health
Association of Australia, the Australian Psychological Society, Doctors
for the Environment, Australia, the Australian Women’s Health
Network, the Australian Nursing Federation, the Royal Australasian
College of Physicians, Australian Association of Social Workers, the
Australian Hospitals and Healthcare Association, the Australian Rural
Health Education Network, the Australian Council of Social Service,
Australian Health Promotion Association, Australian Institute of Health
Innovation, CRANAplus, Doctors Reform Society, Health Issues Centre,
Royal College of Nursing Australia, Services for Australian Rural and
Remote Allied Health, North Yarra Community Health, Women’s Health
East, Women’s Health in the North, and World Vision
Expert advisory committee
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Associate Professor Erica Bell, University Department of Rural Health,
University of Tasmania
Professor David Karoly, Federation Fellow in the School of Earth Sciences,
University of Melbourne
Professor Stephan Lewandowsky, School of Psychology, University of Western
Australia
Dr Peter Tait, RACGP General Practitioner of the Year 2007, Alice Springs
Associate Professor Grant Blashki, Nossal Institute for Global Health
Professor Anthony Capon, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population
Health, Australian National University
Professor Simon Chapman, Professor of Public Health, University of Sydney
Dr Susie Burke, Senior Psychologist, Public Interest, Environment & Disaster
Response, Australian Psychological Society
Dr Marion Carey, Public Health Research Fellow, Monash Sustainability Institute
Professor Colin Butler, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment,
Australian National University
Professor Garry Egger, School of Health & Human Sciences, Southern Cross
University
Why health is important
Climate change poses serious risks to human
health but there are also many opportunities to
improve health from strategies to cut emissions.
When presented in a health context, climate
change is more likely to be considered to be an
issue of personal significance.
Campaigns that emphasise the health risks from
climate change and health benefits of climate
action can help build support for mitigation.
The Lancet and University College London
Institute for Global Health Commissions:
• Climate change “biggest global health threat of
the 21st century”
• Called for a public health movement that
“frames the threat of climate change for
humankind as a health issue”
Health is a top priority for people in Australia
•And its a vote winner:
•Poll in March 2012 showed Labor is nine points ahead
of the Coalition when it comes to who voters think will
best handle health.
•Morgan poll in 2010 on election night found health
second only to economy as priority issues for voters.
The health benefits of climate
action
Health benefits of climate action
“climate change already has, and will continue to
have, a major adverse impact on the health of
human populations.
“.. reducing greenhouse-gas emissions has
unrivalled opportunities for improving public
health.
“Indeed, moving to a low carbon economy could
be the next great public health advance.”
British Medical Journal, The Lancet, and the Finnish
Medical Journal
Action on climate = better health + $
Health benefits of climate action
• Strong emissions reductions can deliver
massive economic savings: 30% by 2020 in
the EU could save €80 billion a year by 2020
in avoided ill health and productivity gains
• Cutting emissions to half 2005 levels
estimated to reduce premature deaths by 2540%
• Emissions reductions could be considered
public health strategies with climate cobenefits
Health impacts are now
Victoria in January 2009 in one five day period:
• 62% increase in mortality, from direct heat related
illnesses and exacerbations of chronic medical
conditions.
• Ambulances had a 46% increase in demand
• Eight-fold increase in heat related presentations to
EDs
• 2.8 fold increase in cardiac arrests
• Threefold increase in patients dead on arrival
Climate change as a moral issue
The Challenges:
• Abstractness and complexity
• Blamelessness of unintentional action
• Guilty bias
• Uncertainty breeds wishful thinking
• Moral tribalism
• Long term horizons and far away places
Climate change as a moral issue
Strategies to respond:
• Use moral frames around exploitation
• Focus on costs as well as benefits
• Motivate through appeals to hope and pride
• Be wary of overstating benefits
• Increase affinity with and responsibility to
future generations
• Highlight the positive actions of others
Role of ideology
• Relationship between world view and
willingness to accept climate science
• Conservatives more likely to reject (opposition
increases with levels of education)
• Exposure to more science can backfire
Using the health frame
• When presented as public health issue,
people more inclined to see climate
change as personally relevant
• More inclined to support action for
mitigation
• Health provides the opportunity to
involves trusted members of the public
• Provides a positive vision for the future
and localisation of the issue
Inequality
• Climate action offers opportunity for
addressing social justice issues
• Effective action requires equitable
allocation of natural resources
• Inequity also leads to all manner of
social ills
• Inequality negatively impacts on
everyone
Civil society leadership
New Scientist, 10 February 2012
by Fred Pearce, London
“We can forget about fixing the planet's ecosystems
and climate until we have fixed government systems,”
a panel of leading international environmental
scientists declared in London on Friday.
“The solution, they said, may not lie with governments
at all. They believe leadership must come from civil
society, from NGOs, local government and
corporations, rather than national leaders or the UN.”
Campaigning for climate action
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Use the frames of health and equity
Use values based appeals
Hope as a motivator
Expand group identity to include future
generations
• Use positive examples
• Be wary of overstating the benefits and
impacts of actions
“Doubt is our product”
- Tobacco executive
Formula for effective climate
communication
1. Talk about the problem
2. Explain why there is opposition – fear, guilt,
vested interests
3. Highlight availability and affordability of
solutions
4. Point out opportunities for health, economy,
quality of life
5. Appeal to values – legacy for future
generations