The Library
Understories is built on a multi-layered governance system: the research library ensures that every message evaluation is grounded in research.
Understories is built on a multi-layered governance system: the research library ensures that every message evaluation is grounded in research.
Communications
MOBILISATION
Narrative
Psychology
Public Opinion
Climatic Change, Vol. 105
Ana Villar, Jon A. Krosnick (2011)
Global Warming vs. Climate Change: Does Word Choice Matter?
Empirical test of whether the words 'global warming' and 'climate change' produce different levels of public concern. The results complicate the conventional framing wisdom — and the differences are smaller than most assume.
The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society
Susan Moser, Lisa Dilling (2011)
Communicating Climate Change: Closing the Science-Action Gap
A foundational audit of why climate science fails to produce public action, examining the gap between what scientists communicate and what audiences receive. Essential reading for anyone designing climate messaging from scratch.
Advanced Science News, Global Challenges
Sander van der Linden, Anthony Leiserowitz, Seth Rosenthal, Ed Maibach (2017)
Inoculating the Public against Misinformation about Climate Change
Introduces inoculation theory applied to climate misinformation: pre-emptively exposing audiences to weakened forms of denial builds resistance to the real thing. One of the most cited studies in the prebunking literature.
Climate and Development Knowledge Network
CDKN Global (2019)
Communicating Climate Change: A Practitioners Guide
Practitioner-oriented guide drawing on CDKN's communications experience across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Foregrounds local context, trust, and messenger credibility over message content.
Translational Behavioral Medicine
Ellen Peters et al. (2022)
Evidence-Based Recommendations for Communicating the Impacts of Climate Change on Health
Evidence-based recommendations for health professionals and communicators on how to frame climate impacts on human health. Bridges clinical communication research and climate advocacy.
New England Journal of Medicine
Ellen Peters, and Renee N. Salas (2022)
Communicating Statistics on the Health Effects of Climate Change
How to present numerical climate-health data to non-expert audiences without distorting or overwhelming them. Offers concrete principles for making statistics feel real and personally relevant.
More in Common
Stephen Hawkins, Arisa Kimaram (2022)
Navigating Climate Change in Europe: The Choices Ahead
Large-scale attitudinal survey across seven European countries, mapping where publics sit on climate and what moves them. Identifies the persuadable middle that most campaigns ignore.
350.org
Collective (2022)
Digital Storytelling Toolkit
A hands-on toolkit from 350.org for grassroots campaigners building climate narratives through digital channels. Covers story structure, platform logic, and how to centre frontline voices. 350 hosts a really extensive trainings website: https://trainings.350.org/
Climatic Change, Springer Nature
James Painter, Suzie Marshall, Katherine Leitzell (2024)
Communicating Climate Futures: A Multi-Country Study on IPCC Scenarios
Multi-country study on how journalists and publics interpret IPCC scenario language. Finds that technical framing consistently backfires — and suggests more grounded, near-term alternatives.
Potential Energy Coalition
John Marshall, Jessica Lu, et al (2026)
Fixing Climate Communications
New evidence-based playbook for communicating about climate more effectively across leading democracies. The study identifies the messages that broaden support across ideological divides and the language that can undermine it.
Communications
MOBILISATION
Narrative
Psychology
Public Opinion
Climatic Change, Vol. 105
Ana Villar, Jon A. Krosnick (2011)
Global Warming vs. Climate Change: Does Word Choice Matter?
Empirical test of whether the words 'global warming' and 'climate change' produce different levels of public concern. The results complicate the conventional framing wisdom — and the differences are smaller than most assume.
The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society
Susan Moser, Lisa Dilling (2011)
Communicating Climate Change: Closing the Science-Action Gap
A foundational audit of why climate science fails to produce public action, examining the gap between what scientists communicate and what audiences receive. Essential reading for anyone designing climate messaging from scratch.
Advanced Science News, Global Challenges
Sander van der Linden, Anthony Leiserowitz, Seth Rosenthal, Ed Maibach (2017)
Inoculating the Public against Misinformation about Climate Change
Introduces inoculation theory applied to climate misinformation: pre-emptively exposing audiences to weakened forms of denial builds resistance to the real thing. One of the most cited studies in the prebunking literature.
Climate and Development Knowledge Network
CDKN Global (2019)
Communicating Climate Change: A Practitioners Guide
Practitioner-oriented guide drawing on CDKN's communications experience across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Foregrounds local context, trust, and messenger credibility over message content.
Translational Behavioral Medicine
Ellen Peters et al. (2022)
Evidence-Based Recommendations for Communicating the Impacts of Climate Change on Health
Evidence-based recommendations for health professionals and communicators on how to frame climate impacts on human health. Bridges clinical communication research and climate advocacy.
New England Journal of Medicine
Ellen Peters, and Renee N. Salas (2022)
Communicating Statistics on the Health Effects of Climate Change
How to present numerical climate-health data to non-expert audiences without distorting or overwhelming them. Offers concrete principles for making statistics feel real and personally relevant.
More in Common
Stephen Hawkins, Arisa Kimaram (2022)
Navigating Climate Change in Europe: The Choices Ahead
Large-scale attitudinal survey across seven European countries, mapping where publics sit on climate and what moves them. Identifies the persuadable middle that most campaigns ignore.
350.org
Collective (2022)
Digital Storytelling Toolkit
A hands-on toolkit from 350.org for grassroots campaigners building climate narratives through digital channels. Covers story structure, platform logic, and how to centre frontline voices. 350 hosts a really extensive trainings website: https://trainings.350.org/
Climatic Change, Springer Nature
James Painter, Suzie Marshall, Katherine Leitzell (2024)
Communicating Climate Futures: A Multi-Country Study on IPCC Scenarios
Multi-country study on how journalists and publics interpret IPCC scenario language. Finds that technical framing consistently backfires — and suggests more grounded, near-term alternatives.
Potential Energy Coalition
John Marshall, Jessica Lu, et al (2026)
Fixing Climate Communications
New evidence-based playbook for communicating about climate more effectively across leading democracies. The study identifies the messages that broaden support across ideological divides and the language that can undermine it.