“Climate communication is an important pathway to action that we don’t speak about enough. Many academic scientists, who are also teachers, are already deeply invested in it. But we haven’t paid enough attention to communication beyond the classroom.”
For years, scientific data has shown alarming indicators of a changing climate and looming environmental crisis– yet this information often falls short of driving action on a scale that is necessary for meaningful change. The commentary How Scientists Can Drive Climate Action: Celebrate Nature and Promote Hope explores other ways of thinking about climate communication. The piece offers five lessons based on lived experience, including celebrating traditional knowledge systems, developing meaningful storytelling, and involving youth in climate leadership roles.
Access the article PDF here: How Scientists Can Drive Climate Action: Celebrate Nature and Promote Hope
In real life, people interact with nature using their senses, and that’s where climate festivals can be effective……Such immersive approaches that engage people with nature can help visitors to go beyond passively viewing scientific information and towards a more joyous and active way of interacting with climate research.
CITATION: Nagendra, Harini. “How scientists can drive climate action: celebrate nature and promote hope”. Nature 638, February 2025, 885-887: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00567-5
You can read more on some of these concepts in the Mountain Sentinels blog article International Mountain Day 2025: Reflections from Hatun Tinkuy to Honor Glaciers, Water, and Ancestral Knowledge.