Why Climate Messaging Fails: New Data Shows How to Win Over Skeptics

The report, Fixing Climate Communications, commissioned by The Rockefeller Foundation and conducted by the Potential Energy Coalition, reveals that while climate concern is high, a trend of 'climate hushing' has seen institutions retreat from the conversation. The research indicates that shifting the narrative away from mandates and toward tangible benefits—such as energy independence and protecting families—increases support by at least 9 percentage points across all surveyed countries.

Different regions require nuanced approaches to break through ideological divides. In France, messaging focused on health risks generates the strongest public response, while in Italy, anti-corporate arguments regarding energy costs prove most persuasive. Germany shows a distinct focus on the physical impacts of an overheating planet. Across the board, framing energy transition as an additive process rather than a restrictive mandate is essential to maintaining public momentum. The data warns that leaders who continue to rely on narrow, technical jargon risk alienating the very audiences they need to persuade, whereas connecting climate policy to daily material concerns effectively bridges the gap between political factions.