Report on the Communicating Climate Solutions Symposium

Introduction: A Multi-Stakeholder Initiative for Sustainable Development

A symposium titled “Communicating Climate Solutions” was convened at the University of California, Santa Cruz, from September 15 to 17. The event brought together over 150 participants, including community leaders, government officials, scientists, and journalists. The primary focus was to address critical challenges in climate communication and identify solutions, directly contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Core Objectives and Alignment with Global Goals

Fostering Climate Action (SDG 13)

The symposium’s central theme was to improve communication to accelerate climate action, in line with SDG 13. Organizers stressed the need for clear and open dialogue about climate risks to help communities develop effective responses.

• Enhance education and awareness-raising on climate change impacts, mitigation, and adaptation.
• Improve human and institutional capacity to identify and implement climate solutions.
• Address the urgency of climate impacts such as extreme weather, wildfires, and floods.

Promoting Equity and Justice (SDG 10 & SDG 16)

A significant emphasis was placed on ensuring that climate solutions are equitable and inclusive. The discussions highlighted that communities most affected by climate change have often contributed the least to the problem, a direct challenge to SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). The symposium aimed to create a more just and participatory dialogue.

• Enable solutions to emerge from communities that lack access to journalists and other communicators.
• Ensure responsive, inclusive, and representative decision-making, a key target of SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
• Amplify historically underrepresented and indigenous voices in the climate discourse.

Strategies for Building Sustainable and Resilient Communities (SDG 11)

Addressing Communication Challenges

The event addressed the challenge of a polarized and fragmented information landscape, which hinders progress toward building sustainable communities as outlined in SDG 11. The goal is to provide citizens with the information needed to understand how climate solutions intersect with their daily lives.

1. Activate Trusted Messengers: Keynote speaker Ed Maibach highlighted the strategy of engaging trusted community figures, such as physicians and weathercasters, to communicate the local impacts of climate change.
2. Connect to Lived Experiences: Speakers noted that the public seeks information connecting climate solutions to daily concerns like food, air quality, and the cost of living.
3. Ensure Public Access to Information: The symposium itself serves as a platform to ensure public access to information, a cornerstone of SDG 16, by making registration open to the public.

Fostering Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17)

A Collaborative Platform

The symposium exemplifies SDG 17 by creating a multi-stakeholder partnership between academia, government, civil society, and media. The event was jointly hosted by the UC Santa Cruz Center for Coastal Climate Resilience and the Science Communication Program.

Key Stakeholders Involved:

• Government: Amanda Hansen, Deputy Secretary for Climate Change at the California Natural Resources Agency.
• Academia: Scientists and communication experts from UC Santa Cruz and George Mason University.
• Civil Society: Community and indigenous organizations.
• Media: Journalists and science communicators.
• Finance: Climate solutions funders.

This collaborative approach is essential for developing and communicating integrated solutions that advance the global agenda for sustainable development.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 13: Climate Action

• The article’s central theme is the “Communicating Climate Solutions Symposium,” which directly addresses the need for action on climate change and its impacts, such as “extreme weather, wildfires and floods.” The entire event is focused on identifying and communicating solutions to climate change.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

• The article explicitly highlights the disproportionate impact of climate change, stating that “the communities most affected by climate change are often those that have contributed the least to the problem.” It also emphasizes the need to “enable historically underrepresented voices to communicate their own climate solutions,” directly addressing social and political inclusion.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

• The symposium itself is a multi-stakeholder partnership, convening “more than 150 community leaders, government officials, scientists, journalists, and other stakeholders.” This collaboration is essential for developing and communicating effective climate solutions, reflecting the core principle of this SDG.

SDG 4: Quality Education

• The focus on effective communication about climate change is a form of public education. The article discusses the challenges of the “rapidly evolving information landscape” and the need to provide people with clear information about climate solutions, which aligns with the goal of promoting knowledge for sustainable development.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

SDG 13: Climate Action

• Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. The symposium’s stated purpose, as articulated by Mike Beck, is to “communicate often, openly, and most importantly, clearly about the risks and impacts we face so that we can help communities identify solutions to climate change,” which directly supports this target.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

• Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all. The article’s call to “enable historically underrepresented voices to communicate their own climate solutions” and for solutions to “emerge from communities that don’t always have access to journalists and other climate communicators” is a direct reflection of this target.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

• Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships. The symposium, which brings together “community leaders, government officials, scientists, journalists, and other stakeholders,” is a clear example of the multi-stakeholder partnerships this target aims to foster.

SDG 4: Quality Education

• Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. The event’s focus on improving climate communication so that people can understand how “climate solutions intersect with their daily lives” contributes to education for sustainable development.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

For Target 13.3 (Climate Education & Awareness)

• Implied Indicator: The number and diversity of stakeholders engaged in climate communication initiatives. The article mentions “more than 150 community leaders, government officials, scientists, journalists, and other stakeholders” as a measure of the symposium’s reach.
• Implied Indicator: The activation of new and diverse communication channels. The article suggests progress can be measured by the ability to “activate the voices of new trusted messengers, people in communities across America,” such as the weathercasters and physicians mentioned by Ed Maibach.

For Target 10.2 (Inclusion)

• Implied Indicator: The level of participation of underrepresented groups in climate solution dialogues. The article implies that a key metric of success is the extent to which solutions “emerge from communities that don’t always have access to journalists and other climate communicators.”

For Target 17.17 (Partnerships)

• Implied Indicator: The number of multi-stakeholder events and collaborations focused on climate solutions. The “inaugural Communicating Climate Solutions Symposium” itself serves as an example and a potential baseline indicator for future partnerships.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: news.ucsc.edu