A review by kali
How to Talk About Climate Change in a Way That Makes a Difference by Rebecca Huntley

5.0

A rewarding read. I say that because it will literally reframe the way I "talk about climate change". The premise is simple: we cannot persuade with more climate science; we can only persuade with emotion. Something that should have been obvious to me as a tutor of rhetorical writing. But there it is. For some reason, we seem to think that political action will be taken on climate change 'if only' climate sceptics and deniers 'knew' the science. The science was known in the 1970s. All the scientists have been doing since then is tracking the losses. Instead, Huntley takes us through the emotions that climate change invokes, and shows us how these emotions hinder communication on climate change and how they can be harnessed. And like everything else, it all boils down to storytelling. Stories are how we make sense of who we are in the world. Compelling climate change stories are local and personal. This is a book I will need to read again and again.