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The Ministry of Environment and Forests is now the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. Including climate change as a key component in the title of the ministry is all very well, but how do we envisage taking climate change and its everyday implications to the masses?
A 2011 Yale study found that 41 per cent of Indians had never heard of climate change, but 72 per cent could relate to the changes when furnished with an explanation.
Similarly, last year, a BBC Media Action survey spanning six Indian states highlighted that while people experience the strife and poverty that climate change exacerbates, they are struggling to respond to it.
Public pressure
These reports worked with small sample sizes, but still serve as an indication of the lack of perspective on climate change.
Recently, TERI’s Environmental Survey listed climate change as a key concern amongst urban Indians, with the perception that climate change policies are not well implemented by the government.
Many Euro-American studies have mapped media coverage of climate change and other issues pertaining to the public understanding of science.
The few studies that have examined Indian media reporting of climate change identify a focus on North-South responsibility. There is less emphasis on reporting proactive efforts, public initiatives and on establishing a causal link between lifestyle patterns and climate change.
American cognitive linguist, George Lakoff, has pointed out that the environment beat, with its myriad facets, might be a challenging area for journalism. Adequately informed public perception can drive policy changes.
The public, or even sections of it, has the power to hold its government accountable for agendas to address impending risks.
The recent presidential plan in US to manage greenhouse gas emissions more effectively is cemented by consistent scientific data and sections of an informed, active citizenry. Climate change and environmental challenges should be made relevant by talking about actual measures people can take to manage their personal carbon footprints better. For instance, my recent study of Australian and American newspapers indicates that climate friendly food practices are poorly represented in mainstream news media.
Dietary practices Climate friendly food practices incorporate a paradigm shift to plant-based, organic and local foods that can be independently adopted to leave a lighter environmental impression. However, the newspapers ended up creating ambivalent narratives.
The food movement in the context of climate change is gaining ground. It is visible in the work of scientists, artists and other concerned citizens.
The National Geographic is running an eight-month series on food security, presenting complex material with the help of scientists from the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment, among others.
Food for climate change is just one area of focus. Lifestyle changes across many routine activities can make a tremendous difference, from usage of water in and around the household, active in-house waste segregation and management techniques, to energy choices and energy grooming behaviour, as well as careful daily transport decisions.
Living the good life need not be about making climate-stressful choices. Cultural theorists are already discussing how to make conscious consumption a pleasurable concept. We can alter the perception of an ideal, aspirational lifestyle to include a focus on the natural world and highlight personal benefits that pro-environment decisions bring to citizens.
Conveying a sense of immediacy that relates to people’s lived experience and urges them to make the shift is vital.
In India, a minister — the Climate Change minister also heads Information and Broadcasting — has the opportunity to straddle the best of both worlds. He can focus on both implementable policies to tackle climate change and communication to encourage climate-friendly behaviour patterns.
The writer is a media sociologist focusing on climate change issues
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