Research

Can Extreme Weather Persuade People to Make Polluters Pay?

Short videos featuring stories of people impacted by extreme weather, such as hurricanes and wildfires, can be particularly persuasive in convincing people who recently experienced a climate-fueled extreme weather event that polluters should pay for climate-fueled natural disasters.

Clean Energy Messaging Longitudinal Study

A longitudinal study that exposed participants to a variety of pro-clean energy videos on social media over the course of three months significantly increased perceptions that clean energy improves the local economy and reduces energy costs. However, this result largely decayed after a month of no exposure, indicating that persistent exposure to messaging is needed, particularly for conservative audiences.

Plugging the “Leaky Funnel” of Online Voter Registration

The “leaky funnel” of online voter registration is a consistent problem where potential new voters drop off during the process. This study found that social pressure messages such as “90% of eligible voters in your state are registered to vote” increased form completion by 40% over a baseline form.

Solar Pays Back, South Africa

Load shedding or rolling blackouts are an ongoing problem for electricity consumers in South Africa who are eager to avoid what are often 10-hour daily interruptions. In this campaign, video messages were successful at convincing participants that it is easy to recoup the cost of installing solar. Baseline agreement to other messages about the benefits of solar energy was so high that the videos had no effect on the outcomes (known as the ceiling effect).

Get To Work with the American Climate Corps

Several short videos about the American Climate Corps (ACC), a federal green jobs program, were successful in persuading young adults about its benefits and encouraging them to recommend the ACC to others looking for a job in the climate and clean energy sector.

Renew Our Grid with the IRA

The Renew Our Grid creator campaign significantly persuaded audiences that renewable energy makes power grids more reliable and to support their community taking advantage of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives to improve their local grid.

Break Up with Gas, UK

Household energy bills in the UK are increasing due to the rising price of methane gas. Across a variety of message frames, an economic frame was the most successful at persuading UK audiences to consider switching from methane gas to renewable energy.

EVs Can Save Super-Drivers Money

Three creator-produced short videos significantly persuaded audiences that an electric vehicle saves drivers money compared to a gas car and to say that they would recommend an EV to a friend or family member.

Inflation Reduction Act Saves You Money (Spanish)

Two creator-produced videos in Spanish had limited success at persuading audiences that switching to electric appliances can save money, possibly because baseline agreement with statements like "I am interested in researching electric alternatives" had 10-20% higher levels of agreement for Spanish-speaking participants than in a previous test to English-speaking audiences.

Concern for Climate Change Directly Informs Youth Civic Engagement

This study, a joint project of the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE), and Climate Power, reveals the untapped potential for engaging young people in climate action and civic engagement. Around 40% of youth believe they can influence climate issues but are currently not participating in related civic activities.