Emotion and Engagement in Reddit Climate Talk

Understanding public discourse around climate change is crucial for effective climate communication and action. Using a comprehensive analysis of 533,699 Reddit posts and comments from 2007 to 2023, we map the structure of climate change discourse through topic modeling, network analysis, and emotion detection. Our findings reveal three key patterns: First, while solution-focused topics—particularly tree planting, nuclear energy, and electric vehicles—dominate discussions, they also generate significant debate rather than consensus. Users often reject "silver bullet" thinking and emphasize the need for multiple solutions. Second, network analysis shows that energy-related topics form the structural core of climate discussions, serving as bridges between different aspects of climate discourse, beyond their raw volume on Reddit. Third, emotion detection uncovers the most emotionally charged topics, offering a data-driven blueprint for designing future topic-specific communication strategies. These findings suggest that effective climate communication strategies can acknowledge solution complexity, leverage energy topics as entry points, and address both hopes and concerns around technological solutions.