The “Who” in Climate Change Communication: A Mixed Methods Study on Climate Communicators and Trust

Communicating about climate change is challenging. It is multifaceted and requires inter- and transdisciplinary efforts, as well as trusted communicators. Perspectives from an interdisciplinary group of climate experts were used in a mixed methods approach to identify optimal climate change communicators. A sample from the general public (N = 974) was asked to what extent they trusted communicators identified in qualitative analyses of expert interviews. The results show that in addition to communicators previously known to be trusted by the public (e.g., scientists), communicators and channels at the individual (e.g., role models) and institutional level (e.g., public health organizations) were mentioned as trusted. According to experts, the government’s often-limited science communication skills should be increased because institutional-level communicators are among the least trusted, except for public health institutions, which are highly trusted. Utilizing trusted communicators and channels, as well as combining them, can increase the impact of climate change communication.