It doesn’t have to be so daunting.
Combating climate change is a call to action that we can all get behind, but sometimes simply talking about it can feel as difficult as beating it, especially when it comes to friends and family of differing opinions.
But believe it or not, you’ll likely be talking with someone on the same side of the issue as you — or at the very least, someone who has an open mind. That’s because, since 1997, “huge majorities” of Americans have been on the green side of the issue, meaning they believe that the planet has been warming due to human activity and support government policies to address this increase.
“Not everybody loves every climate policy, but there’s definitely common ground,” says Jon Krosnick, who’s a social psychologist and professor at Stanford University.
Regardless of where people land on the topic, climate change is not often up for debate: 67 percent of Americans said they “rarely” or “never” discussed global warming with loved ones, according to the report Climate Change in the American Mind.
With so many moving parts and opportunities to butt heads, it’s understandable that many people avoid the topic altogether. But, we can’t fight for our environment successfully if we can’t even talk about it. Luckily, Krosnick offered some expert tips on how to have a productive conversation.
Introduce climate change casually
Krosnick says a good way to bring up climate change is to ask whether someone has seen the latest polls on the issue (Krosnick estimates that about 75 to 80 percent of Americans believe that the earth is warming). This approach doesn’t feel like you’re coming in too strong with an opinion right out of the gate and can potentially lead to a more reflective conversation around the issue.
But, counter to what you might think, it’s best to avoid peppering your conversation with too much data, which Krosnick thinks has “almost no value at all.” He says this mostly has to do with the fact that these figures are based on ever-changing predictions of the future and it’s instead better to spark someone’s curiosity.
“Inspiring people to want to learn more and think more about climate is a far better approach than trying to throw out statistics and convince the person that they ought to believe something,” he says.
Don’t worry about trying to convince someone
Conversations around climate change have traditionally been focused on trying to convince people that climate change is real, but given the general agreement on the issue, this is a waste of time and energy.
But if you do find yourself up against a friend or family member on the opposite side of the argument, keep in mind that people don’t just flip their opinions that easily, and trying to force it can do more harm than good.
“Trying to make someone change their mind is not a smart interpersonal goal because you might lose the relationship,” Krosnick tells us. Instead, try to find a middle ground. The trick is to lead with more thoughtful discussions that take into account different perspectives and ideologies around climate change.
Avoid fear-mongering
Some of the predictions around global warming look pretty grim: Starvations, mass extinctions, and more natural disasters are just a few things humans have to look forward to over the next few decades, according to an April 2022 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
While Krosnick tells us that a little bit of fear can help people “to pay attention and think more systematically,” other experts point out that focusing too much on these grim and gloomy predictions can lead to inaction, or worse, division.
“If we have no hope of having a better world, then it becomes a more divided world,” Lucky Tran, a science communicator at Columbia University, told The Washington Post.
Instead, focus on solutions. People are more likely to respond positively to problem-solving than fear tactics, and we’re much more likely to see success if we’re in this together.
