The role of emotion in climate change communication

Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent and severe worldwide. Emotional messages might be persuasive in communicating this information, but it remains unclear whether message efficacy depends more on emotional content or delivery. In a pre-registered experiment (N = 3,463), participants were randomly assigned to listen to one of seven audio messages: a control message or one of six messages on climate change’s impact on extreme weather, varying in emotional content (neutral, semi-emotional, emotional) and delivery (neutral vs. emotional). Compared to the control, all messages were equally effective at increasing belief in climate change’s impact on extreme weather, support for government action, and worry about extreme weather and climate change. However, participants were more willing to share the ‘neutral content + emotionally-delivered’ message than the same message delivered in a neutral tone. These findings provide valuable insights for scholars and practitioners on the role of emotions in climate change communication.