How we talk about climate and nature matters. Taking the a familiar message and framing it differently can make a huge difference to how it is received. Finding ways to tell better stories that resonate with people is at the heart of Britain Talks Climate and Nature 2025, a resource to help those working on environmental issues communicate more effectively.
Britain Talks Climate and Nature is a project from Climate Outreach, a charity which focuses on public engagement with climate change, and More in Common which seeks to help find common ground and bring people together to tackle shared challenges. The research sought to understand and engage with people’s priorities, questions and concerns about climate and nature. The work produced an in-depth report and a communications toolkit.
This post will explore the key findings and recommendations, and suggest some ways that churches and other Christian groups might make use of the research.
Key findings
1. We are a nation of nature lovers and want to protect our environment.
People are concerned about climate change harming nature and wildlife. There is a sense of pride in what we already do to protect and restore natural places.
2. Trust in British society, politics and government is collapsing.
People feel overlooked, disillusioned about the present and fearful for the future, and many are yet to be convinced that net zero offers a positive way forward.
3. Climate action has an image problem but it’s fixable.
Audiences need to see and feel the positive progress that’s already underway. They need to hear that this progress can make life, their communities, and the future, tangibly better. They need to feel that this is possible, and that everyone can play a part.
Key recommendations for communicators
1. Translate and explain, don’t assume or assert.
The research shows that jargon and statistics don’t resonate with people. Support for action increases when we explain why it matters and what it means for people’s lives.
2. Inspire a better future: show why tackling climate change leads to good things for us all.
This means connecting tackling climate change to protecting nature and improving health, well-being, and other aspects of people’s daily lives and local areas. Highlighting positive progress in local and tangible ways is also important.
3. Don’t take support for granted but don’t misinterpret or overestimate opposition.
People from all walks of life have concerns about the cost and politics of net zero. But this does not mean they are not concerned about climate change or that they’re opposed to action to protect the environment.
The seven segments
The seven segments are a way of moving beyond defining people as left or right leaning. The audience segmentation research from More in Common maps British society into seven segments, based on core values. This helps us to understand both the divides and the common ground. They allow communicators to use different climate stories to resonate with the different groups. Broadly summarised, the seven segments and their climate headlines are:
- Progressive Activists want climate action to make the world a better place.
- Incrementalist Left believe in communities and leaders working together on climate change to improve the status quo.
- Established Liberals believe we’re moving in the right direction on climate through a mix of technology, innovation and global co-operation.
- Sceptical Scrollers are online, engaged, up for radical change but alienated by the way climate decisions are made.
- Rooted Patriots are proud of Britain’s past, and their community, they want a climate future they can be proud of.
- Traditional Conservatives believe in respecting the environment, but worry that climate action is overbearing and unfair.
- Dissenting Disruptors recognise the need to tackle climate change, but they believe the system is rigged and it’s leaving them behind.
You can find more detailed descriptions of all of the segments on the Climate Outreach website. If you’re curious about which segment you fall into, then you can take the More in Common quiz.
The toolkit
The communications toolkit looks at a number of topics including climate change and nature, net zero, renewable energy policy and infrastructure, and political leadership. There are dos and don’ts for communicators and tips for adapting messages on the topic for each segment. You can dive into this on the Climate Outreach website.
Should we stop talking about net zero?
The element of the report that made newspaper headlines was the finding that support for Britain’s net zero target has declined in recent years. Net zero has become a weaponised term, associated with politicians and technical jargon that people don’t trust. People don’t understand what it is or why it will be good for them. The report suggests that the focus needs to switch to what net zero means in concrete terms — whether it’s cleaner air, warmer homes, good jobs, or better health and well-being. The communications toolkit offers a range of ways to adapt the message to resonate with the different segments.
It’s worth noting that there were strong levels of support for moves to clean energy right across the spectrum, but also a sense of pride in Britain’s traditional sources of energy. Not denigrating the country’s past was important with several of the segments so when talking about the switch it’s important to focus on the positives of renewables and not the negatives of fossil fuels.
What does this mean for churches?
One of the threads that runs through the findings is the need to communicate on climate and nature through a local lens. Local community leaders tend to be more trusted than national ones because people believe they actually understand their issues. There is a real desire for genuine consultation but people are concerned that they won’t be listened to in any meaningful way. Churches that are at the heart of their communities have the potential to play a key role. This might look like:
- Sharing and celebrating stories of where climate action has benefited the local community
- Starting from people’s love of the nature on their doorsteps
- Listening to people’s concerns and using the toolkit to help you talk about climate change in a way that resonates with them
- Bringing people together to improve their local area
- Working with local messengers that people trust
It’s all too easy to feel disheartened at the scale of the challenge but the importance of locally rooted stories suggests that churches engaging on climate issues in a practical way in their communities have a real opportunity to connect with people.
Read more at https://climateoutreach.org/btc/2025/
For a deeper dive into climate communication, check out Shelly’s briefing paper Approaches to Climate Communication here.
Shelly Dennison is a director of JRI, Website Content Creator at CPRE Bedfordshire, the countryside charity, and a freelance writer.