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The UN climate conference – COP – takes place annually. It attracts international political leaders, activists, lobbyists and journalists, with the conference focused on progressing global agreements and cooperation on climate change. Not only do the COPs act as major policy milestones, but they are potentially important moments for public engagement too.
They form a focal point for what climate movements around the world demand of their governments, and are major climate communication ‘moments’ in and of themselves, often marking a major uptick of media coverage and campaign activity.
The public recognise that climate change is a problem that can only be solved through international cooperation, and want to see global leadership by the UK government. Our Climate Barometer tracker shows that both the public and MPs think the UK should be one of the most ambitious countries in the world on climate change.
But the picture is more mixed in terms of the faith people have in major international gatherings to deliver on their promises. And although COPs take up a huge amount of bandwidth for the climate movement, its not clear that the public is always paying attention.
This thread brings together insights on opinion about international negotiations with key discourses and developments around the annual COP cycle.
Polling by Global Scan, which carried out surveys in 31 countries ahead of COP26, found that:
Research by the Development Engagement Lab found that around the time of COP26, held in Glasgow:
A report and guide produced by Climate Outreach ahead of COP26 presents a set of insights for engaging the public around international negotiations. Drawing on analysis with two key audience groups (Loyal Nationals and Civic Pragmatists, two of More in Common’s ‘British Seven’), the report notes that:
“Messaging that speaks to the need to protect nature, and that frames climate change as a shared global crisis and a shared global responsibility, is likely to resonate.
Language around the benefits from green investments and jobs is effective, but not when it seems to undermine the idea of global cooperation.
Engagement needs to counter the fact that many people do not understand what COP is about, and when they do they are often sceptical about what it could achieve, or believe it should be
conducted online rather than in person.Communications should be confident in framing climate change as a shared global crisis and a shared global responsibility. There is no need to overly explain the global context or cater to a misplaced sense of isolationism.”