At its heart, climate change is a social change problem. Canadians care and worry about the issue, yet most are not taking action on a scale the climate emergency requires.
That is what Re.Climate, Canada’s first Climate Communication and Engagement Centre, aims to change. The new organization aims to generate a social mandate for strong climate leaders and bold policies, and spark action to cut climate pollution and prepare for climate impacts in our communities and lives.
Re.Climate has an amazing and growing team of Canada’s leading climate communication practitioners and academics working together to generate and mobilize knowledge around how to talk about climate change and motivate action. Programming will be delivered through a resource and training hub, strategic communication and engagement services for organizations, government agencies and academic institutions, and an Engagement Lab that brings researchers and practitioners together to solve real-world challenges.
Climate Access and the Climate Narratives Initiative developed and incubated Re.Climate in partnership with the Communauté de pratique en communication climatique with support from the Clean Economy Fund, the Donner Canadian Foundation and the McConnell Foundation. Johanna Leffler, former Executive Director of the Clean Economy Fund, played an instrumental role stewarding the project, building on years of her work driving investments in climate communication in Canada.
At launch, there were already more than 1,700 civil society, government, health, youth, faith, Indigenous, academic and others leaders that are part of Re.Climate’s network. Over the past three years, they have accessed strategic guidance, tools and training such as our playbook Messaging that Works: Talking Energy Transition and Climate Change in Canada.
Over the next months, we will expand our offerings. Stay tuned for guidance on how to talk about an energy transition and climate change in Alberta, tips on building support and understanding of Canada’s energy transition pathway, overcoming climate misinformation and our annual roll-ups of media and public opinion and what it all means for communicators.
We welcome you to get involved. Drop us a note if there are topics you need help with. Join our mailing list for monthly tips and tools. Follow us on social media. Finally, support our work through a donation or by hiring our team to help you with strategic communication research, planning, evaluation and training.
To cut emissions and increase resilience to climate impacts, Canadians are needed as partners in transforming our economy, energy systems and communities. It’s time to expand efforts to normalize climate conversations to spark and support climate action.
