119 J. Godemann and G. Michelsen (eds.), Sustainability Communication: Interdisciplinary
Perspectives and Theoretical Foundations, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-1697-1_11,
© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011
Abstract Climate change communication is a new and fast-developing element of
sustainability communication. It can be conceived of both as communication about
and as communication of climate change, referring to an analytical and a normative
dimension of the concept. In this contribution, climate change communication will
be outlined and its role within the larger field of sustainability communication will
be discussed.
Keywords Climatechange•Climatechangecommunication•Massmedia•Media
discourse•Participation
Climate Change as a Sustainability Issue that Calls
for Communication
Anthropogenic climate change constitutes a paradigmatic sustainability problem,
reaching well beyond what is commonly known as ‘environmental problems’. For
three fundamental reasons, communication is a key element in societal strategies to
cope with climate change.
First of all, the issue of climate change is characterised by a high level of
complexity and uncertainty. As a global issue, its causes and (potential) implica-
tions vary greatly around the world (Young et al. 2006). The complex and highly
non-linear system of interdependencies among the elements of the global climate
are still not fully understood, rendering forecasts of the effects of greenhouse gas
emissions and other factors highly uncertain, if not impossible. As moreover the
J. Newig (*)
ResearchGroupGovernance,ParticipationandSustainability,
Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication,
Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany
e-mail: newig@uni.leuphana.de
Chapter 11
Climate Change as an Element
of Sustainability Communication
Jens Newig