The Role of Communications in Climate Action

Every climate solution depends on people. A new flood early-warning system saves lives only if communities receive the alert, trust it and know what to do.

Impact Comms · 2026-10-30

Science tells us what is happening to our planet. Communication decides what we do about it. Across Kenya and the wider continent, the evidence on climate change is no longer in dispute. What remains uneven is understanding, trust and action, and that gap is a communications problem as much as a policy or funding one.

This article explains the role of communications in climate action: why it matters, what effective climate communication looks like, and how organisations, governments and advocates can use strategic communications to move people from awareness to meaningful change.

Why communication sits at the centre of climate action

Every climate solution depends on people. A new flood early-warning system saves lives only if communities receive the alert, trust it and know what to do. A national adaptation plan changes nothing if citizens, county officers and businesses have never heard of it. A clean-energy transition stalls if the public sees it as something imposed from outside rather than an opportunity that benefits them.

Communication is the connective tissue between climate science, policy, finance and daily behaviour. It translates technical findings into language people can use, makes the cost of inaction visible, and creates the public pressure and public support that political decisions depend on.

The global climate process itself shows this. At COP30 in Belém in November 2025, 194 Parties adopted 56 consensus decisions, and the conference confirmed a finance pathway aiming to scale climate funding to USD 1.3 trillion a year by 2035 and triple adaptation finance. The conversation has shifted from negotiating promises to delivering on them, and delivery depends on public understanding, accountability and participation. That is the work of communications.

The Kenyan reality: a climate story that is already being lived

For Kenyans, climate change is not an abstract future risk. It is in the news, in the market price of maize, and in the water running through the streets.

Extreme heat is becoming the norm. The State of the Climate Kenya 2025 report found that 2025 was the country's seventh warmest year in 36 years, with temperatures rising about 0.22°C per decade since 1991.
Floods and drought arrive together. In March 2026, flash floods hit Nairobi and other regions, and authorities reported at least 81 deaths nationwide that month, 37 of them in Nairobi. Less than two months later, floods and landslides killed at least 18 more people in May.
The same shocks hit different communities differently. While floods devastated central regions, humanitarian agencies warned that arid and semi-arid counties faced worsening food insecurity, with the IPC projecting 3.7 million people in acute food insecurity between April and June 2026.
The economic exposure is structural. Kenya's National Treasury Disaster Risk Financing Strategy 2026–2030 notes that more than 80 per cent of the country's landmass is arid or semi-arid, making drought the leading threat to the economy and public finances.

These are the facts. The communications question is what people do with them: who explains them, in what language, through which channels, and with what call to action.

Closing the gap between awareness and action

Awareness alone does not produce action. Even among people who know about climate change, views differ sharply on who should respond. A study published in Nature using Afrobarometer data from 39 countries analysed responses from the 26,735 people who said they had heard of climate change. Among them, 45 per cent said national governments carry the main responsibility, while 30 per cent pointed to ordinary citizens.

That finding matters for communicators. It shows an audience that expects leadership from institutions, and it also shows a large group that sees personal responsibility. Each group needs different messages: one needs evidence of government delivery and a way to hold leaders to account, the other needs practical, achievable things to do. Treating "the public" as a single audience is the fastest way to waste a campaign budget.

Research from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication reinforces the point. Its cross-national work shows that the share of people who are highly concerned varies widely even within Sub-Saharan Africa. Messaging that works in one country or community will not automatically work in the next.

Six roles communications plays in climate action

1. Building understanding and public awareness

Communication turns complex science into clear, relevant information: what is changing, why, and what it means for a farmer in Machakos, a trader in Gikomba or a family in Mathare. Good awareness work is specific, local and free of jargon.

2. Changing behaviour and social norms

From clean cooking and water harvesting to tree growing, waste separation and climate-smart farming, many solutions depend on millions of small decisions. Behaviour change communication works by making the desired action easy, visible, socially encouraged and beneficial to the person taking it.

3. Driving policy and holding leaders accountable

Climate commitments only become delivery when citizens, journalists and civil society keep them in view. Advocacy campaigns, media engagement and public dialogues translate public concern into political priority, and make progress, or the lack of it, visible.

4. Mobilising finance and partnerships

Funders, investors and development partners respond to credible, well-told cases for investment. Clear impact narratives, strong data storytelling and professional pitch materials help community-led projects compete for the resources that global climate finance commitments promise.

5. Protecting lives through risk and crisis communication

When a flood warning, drought alert or disease advisory reaches people early, in a language they understand, through a source they trust, lives are saved. Risk communication is climate adaptation in its most direct form, and the March 2026 floods showed how much depends on it.

6. Amplifying community voices and local solutions

Communities already adapting to climate change hold knowledge the rest of the country needs. Communications gives pastoralists, smallholder farmers, youth groups, women's groups and informal settlement residents a platform to shape the narrative rather than just appear in it.

Why storytelling works when statistics do not

Data establishes that a problem exists. Stories make people care about it. A figure like "3.7 million people facing acute food insecurity" is important, yet it is hard to feel. A single well-told story of one family's failed harvest, the decision they made, and what helped them cope makes the same number real.

Effective climate storytelling has a few consistent features:

A real person at the centre. Specific names, places and decisions beat generalities.
A clear stake. The audience understands what is at risk and why it matters now.
A path forward. Stories that end only in despair produce paralysis. Showing a solution at work, and a role for the audience, produces engagement.
Respect and consent. Communities are partners in the story, not props. Ethical storytelling means informed consent, fair representation and returning value to the people featured.
Format that fits the audience. Short video for social, radio in local languages for rural reach, long-form features for policymakers, photo essays for exhibitions and events.

Principles of effective climate communication

Know your audience before you write a word. Segment by what people already believe, what they care about and what they can realistically do. A county planner, a smallholder farmer and a corporate sustainability head need different messages.
Lead with local impact. Global temperature targets feel distant. Rising maize prices, flooded roads and failed rains feel immediate. Start with what people can see and feel.
Pair every problem with a solution. Fear can get attention but rarely sustains action. Give people something specific to do, and show that it works.
Use trusted messengers. Chiefs, faith leaders, teachers, extension officers, community radio hosts and respected peers often carry more credibility than institutions or brands.
Communicate in the languages people use. Kiswahili, Sheng and mother-tongue content reach people that English-only campaigns miss.
Combine channels. Digital reaches the connected. Radio, community forums, live events and printed materials reach everyone else. The strongest campaigns are integrated.
Be consistent and honest. Credibility is the most valuable asset in climate communication. State what is known, acknowledge uncertainty plainly, and never exaggerate.
Make it participatory. People support what they help create. Invite audiences to share their own stories, take part in events and shape the response.

Common mistakes that weaken climate messaging

Jargon overload. Terms like "mitigation co-benefits" and "nationally determined contributions" mean little to most audiences. Translate them.
Doom without direction. Constant catastrophe framing leads to fatigue and withdrawal.
One message for everyone. Undifferentiated campaigns reach nobody in particular.
Outsider framing. Campaigns designed far from the communities they target often miss local realities and priorities.
Greenwashing. Claims that are not backed by real action damage trust, for the organisation and for the wider climate cause.
Counting reach, not results. Impressions and views are not impact. What matters is whether understanding, attitudes or behaviour changed.

Why African voices must lead the climate narrative

Africa contributes only a small share of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet it is among the regions most severely affected. That imbalance makes the narrative itself a matter of justice. When the story of climate change is told mainly by others, African communities risk being cast as victims waiting for help rather than as innovators, advocates and decision-makers.

Local journalists, creators, advocates and communication professionals are best placed to tell this story accurately. They understand the cultural context, speak the languages, and know which solutions are already working. Investing in local climate storytelling, in newsrooms, creative studios and community media, is investing in the credibility and effectiveness of the continent's climate response.

It is also a matter of agenda-setting. The conversations at global forums shape finance, technology and policy that will determine Africa's future. Strong, evidence-based and compelling African narratives help ensure that Africa's priorities, particularly adaptation finance, loss and damage, and a just transition, stay at the table.

Measuring what matters

Climate communication should be held to the same standard as any other climate intervention: does it change something? A practical measurement approach tracks three levels:

Output: what you produced and distributed (stories, broadcasts, events, publications).
Outcome: what changed in your audience (knowledge, attitudes, trust, intention to act), measured through surveys, polls, focus groups or community feedback.
Impact: what changed in the world (adoption of a practice, policy decision, funding secured, lives protected).

Setting the target at the impact level from the start shapes everything, from the choice of channel to the call to action.

What this means for your organisation

If you lead a climate organisation, a government programme, a business or a community initiative, communications is not a finishing touch to add after the project is designed. It is part of the design. The most effective climate programmes plan their audiences, messages, messengers and measurement alongside their technical work from day one.

Whether you need a climate advocacy strategy, a storytelling campaign, a public engagement event, a media and content programme, or the communications backbone for a conference or awards platform, the principle is the same: start with the change you want to see and design the communication to get there.

Let's turn climate action into a story people act on

Reznick Communications is a Nairobi-based strategic communications and events production agency helping organisations communicate with clarity, credibility and impact. Tell us what change you want to create and we will help you plan how to communicate it.

Start a conversation with our team

Frequently asked questions

What is climate communication?

Climate communication is the strategic use of messages, stories, media and engagement to help people understand climate change, see its relevance to their lives and take action. It spans public awareness, advocacy, policy influence, behaviour change and crisis communication.

Why is communication important in climate action?

Policies, funding and technology only work when people understand them, trust them and participate. Communication builds public support, holds leaders accountable, warns communities before disasters and connects solutions to the people who need them.

How can storytelling help address climate change?

Stories make abstract data personal. A farmer's shifting planting calendar or a family displaced by floods helps audiences understand risks and solutions in a way statistics alone rarely do, which makes them more likely to engage, share and act.

How can organisations in Kenya communicate climate action effectively?

Start with a clear audience and goal, use local languages and trusted community messengers, lead with local impacts and practical solutions, combine digital with radio, events and community forums, and measure behaviour change rather than reach alone.

What is the difference between climate communication and climate marketing?

Climate communication aims to inform, engage and mobilise people around real climate issues and solutions. Marketing promotes a product or brand. When brand claims are not supported by real action, it becomes greenwashing and erodes public trust.