Climate change is a proven scientific phenomenon. It is affecting everyone on the planet, some more than others. However, today, the term “climate change” has become something to be contested, disbelieved, even scorned. The necessity of considering the worlds of both science and politics can make communication about issues and solutions related to climate change particularly challenging to navigate.

How to Cut Through the Political Noise in Climate Change Messaging

Most issues related to climate change impact human health, either directly, like heat stroke, or indirectly, like expanding ranges of mosquito-borne diseases. This is a great place to start when building a message that is most likely to get through the partisan walls and reach the audience you need. According to a new survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC), Americans’ awareness of climate change as a health issue has increased, across party lines. Framing the issue around its threats to human health, safety, and wellbeing builds a strong message that will cut through the political noise and resonate with many different kinds of people.

Another important factor to consider is who the communication is coming from. A message is often more impactful to a group if the delivery comes from a trusted messenger—someone who is perceived as familiar and respected is often a more influential and credible information source to a community than an external organization. In the same YPCCC survey, respondents, on average (but particularly among Republicans), selected first responders and primary care doctors as the most trusted sources of information on climate change health risks. More politically perceived sources, like journalists and federal health and environmental organizations, were ranked as some of the least trusted.

When it comes to climate change-related dangers such as air pollution and heat stroke, it’s easier to have faith in a source that you can put a face to in your community and who may have similar lived experiences—first responders and doctors are information sources people can have direct relationships with, unlike government organizations and media outlets.

Using trusted communicators to convey the importance of an issue, as well as framing the issue through its impacts on humans, are great ways to appeal to people across the political spectrum. Both of these strategies emphasize the importance of community in climate change-related problems and solutions. When environmental issues are presented on a broad scale, like “global climate change,” it can make the problem feel both distant from the audience and too big to address, causing fearful and sometimes frustrated avoidance. Focusing on the “symptoms” of the issue that affect the local community makes the issue seem more relatable and solutions feel more achievable.

Our Strategy

Dr. Irene Mathieu in the Piedmont Environmental Council’s video “Human Health and Climate Change.” (Credit: Piedmont Environmental Council)

At Green Fin Studio, we work with our clients to hone and strengthen their communications in order to target the audience that their message needs to reach, and these climate change-related strategies are crucial in our toolkit. We worked with the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) to create a video discussing the relationship between human health and climate change. The project used local trusted messengers to convey the message–including a pediatrician from the area, Dr. Irene Mathieu. Her perspective on the health dangers of the rising heat, especially for children, adds to the relational credibility of the PEC’s message.

Our biggest piece of advice: always end with a call to action. What do you want your audience to do after taking in your message? Tell them! This is yet another way to personalize your communications and empower your audience to act locally, moving away from broad informational messaging that can overwhelm and alienate.

The polarization of climate change issues make them daunting to talk about, but your message is important. In order to cut through the noise, you must tailor the framing to your audience—use trusted messengers and address the localized problems that directly impact human wellbeing.

This article was written by Green Fin Studio’s 2026 University of Virginia Environmental Institute summer intern Rosie Strickland!