Climate Communication Reimagined: Appealing Across Moral Foundations - CleanTechnica

The article explores how climate communication can be improved by appealing to a broader range of moral foundations, drawing on Jonathan Haidt’s 2012 framework of six moral foundations: Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, Sanctity, and Liberty. It highlights that traditional climate advocacy often aligns with progressive values, emphasizing harm prevention, social justice, and fairness, which resonate primarily with audiences prioritizing Care and Fairness. However, this approach tends to overlook conservative moral foundations such as Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity, which emphasize group cohesion, tradition, and respect for institutions. This gap in messaging contributes to resistance among conservative audiences, exemplified by the MAGA movement’s effective use of these conservative moral appeals. The article argues for climate communication strategies that blend progressive and conservative moral frames to engage a wider audience. For example, in the U.S., messaging that combines the progressive focus on clean energy jobs and economic fairness with conservative themes of energy independence, national pride, and competitiveness can bridge ideological divides.