Articles | Volume 7, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-7-91-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-7-91-2024
Research article
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18 Apr 2024
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 18 Apr 2024

Evaluating the impact of climate communication activities by scientists: what is known and necessary?

Frances Wijnen, Madelijn Strick, Mark Bos, and Erik van Sebille

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Executive editor
Engaging a broad public in climate sciences is crucial for educating and motivating action. In turn, assessing communication initiatives can contribute to improving these activities for all involved. Through a systematic literature review, the authors emphasise the scarcity of peer-reviewed publications evaluating the outcomes of scientists' science communication efforts. The paper underscores the need to transparently assess these activities, whether successful or not, in order to advance the field. Although the focus of this paper is on public engagement in climate science, the implications extend to various geoscience domains.
Short summary
Climate scientists are urged to communicate climate science; there is very little evidence about what types of communication work well for which audiences. We have performed a systematic literature review to analyze what is known about the efficacy of climate communication by scientists. While we have found more than 60 articles in the last 10 years about climate communication activities by scientists, only 7 of these included some form of evaluation of the impact of the activity.
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