Welsh researcher leads study into ‘fear-based’ climate change messages

Nation.Cymru staff

A Welsh academic has helped lead new international research into the way climate change is communicated, and how it could be harming public mental health and undermining efforts to drive action.

Dr Barry Bentley, Reader in Bioengineering at Cardiff Metropolitan University, is part of the international team behind the peer reviewed study published in Sustainable Development, an interdisciplinary journal that highlights possible solutions to global challenges.

The study examines how climate change messages are delivered to the public, suggesting that widely used fear-based approaches, designed to emphasise urgency, may have unintended consequences.

Evidence reviewed in the study indicates that alarmist messaging can increase anxiety and distress, potentially discouraging people from engaging with the issue altogether.

Instead, the authors from China, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Ireland, New Zealand, the USA, and the UK suggest that more positive and practical messaging could prove more effective in the long term.

Approaches that focus on achievable action, shared responsibility and solutions are more likely to encourage sustained public engagement, while also protecting mental wellbeing, they argue.

Dr Bentley said the findings highlight the need to rethink how climate change is discussed in public discourse, commenting: “Climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges we face, but how we communicate that challenge is equally important.

“If messaging creates fear without offering a sense of agency, it can disengage people or negatively affect wellbeing.”

The study also points to a lack of research into the psychological effects of climate communication and calls for a more balanced approach going forward.

Dr Bentley added that reframing the issue could help motivate individuals and communities to act without feeling overwhelmed.

He said: “There is a real opportunity to rethink how we engage people on climate issues.

“By focusing on hope, collaboration and practical solutions, we can encourage meaningful action without compromising mental wellbeing.”