An International Census and Survey of Climate Change Communication and Education Organizations

• In Event: Research-Policy Collaborations for Climate Communication and Education

Abstract

Like many other movements, the climate communication and education (CCE) field consists of multiple organizations and groups working at different scales – at community, municipal, national, regional and international levels. To understand and track dynamics of CCE organizations (hereafter referred to as CCEOs), the MECCE Project and partner and collaborator organizations, NAAEE and Columbia University, ,conducted a sub-project titled "The International Dataset and Directory of Institutions Active in the Field of Climate Communication and Education". Prior to this study, little was known about how organizations and groups carry out CCE across this range of scales. This study was undertaken to help fill this knowledge gap.

The overarching aim of the study was to identify and map the organizations across countries, highlight the extent of their networks, and document their activities (both in size and type). Two complementary approaches were used: a web-based census and an international survey of climate communication and education organizations. Specifically, this study addresses the following questions:
+How many CCEOs are there globally? In which regions or geographical locations are they to be found? Are they state-specific, national-, or trans-national entities?
+What do these CCEOs do? What kinds of CCE activities do they facilitate and what services do they offer?
+To what extent do CCEO activities and services vary across different social, political, economic, and ecological contexts?
+What are the strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and needs of existing CCEOs?

The online census was conducted to identify CCEOs operating in each country. A research team searched for CCEOs using a structured protocol across different search engines, social media, and listed network directories by local or national organizations. Information on the CCEOs was compiled into a directory. Overall, 5,596 CCEOs have so far been identified across 250 countries and territories.

Using the contact information from the census directory, we disseminated a survey to collect additional information on activities which the census alone could not provide. Specifically, the survey collected information from CCEOs about 1) the organization itself (e.g., location, age, size, target populations, structure, networks, contact information) and 2) the organization’s CCE-related services and programs. Although recruitment of responses is ongoing, to date, we have received over 900 responses; and data collection and analysis will be complete by late 2023.

Preliminary findings indicate that a majority of CCEOs are young, with over half of organizations being established in the last two decades. The majority of CCEOs are non-governmental organizations and are typically highly formalized. Almost three-fourths of the organizations (74%) are members of networks that work to advance CCE. A majority report working in nonformal education and three-fifths engage in formal education (60%). The organizations in the study are less likely to address social emotional learning, climate anxiety, and connections to Indigenous knowledge. This paper will share these and other results from the census and survey, as well as provide some implications for organizations and collaborators working on CCE.

Authors

• Erika Kessler, American Institutes for Research

• Oren Pizmony-Levy, Teachers College, Columbia University