Draft:Climate change narrative

Climate change narratives are the stories told by individuals, the media, governments or NGOs that describe the phenomenon of climate change in general. These narratives can be found everywhere from the news to blockbuster fiction.. , from government policy to protest placards, from art to law, or from international reports to personal anecdote. They can be about disaster, recovery, risk, uncertainty, denial, livelihoods, non-human animals and plants, people, lifestyles, responsibility and agency, or all of the above. Climate change narratives are important as they inform the way in which climate change is perceived in the present, and acted upon in the future. There is no one dominant climate change narrative, however some are more prevalent than others, so a critical awareness of dominant climate change narratives is necessary in order to ensure equity and equality in addressing climate matters.

Examples of climate change narratives

 * Strategic narratives: deliberately curated climate change narratives that serve a specific purpose
 * The Al Gore narrative, where one person becomes a figure of reliability and truth-telling above others . This form of climate change narrative places emphasis on anthropogenic climate change and implies the solution is a human
 * The climate apocalypse narrative, where climate change is depicted as an insurmountable problem that will bring about the end of mankind . This narrative can also be perpetuated by grassroots movements or NGOs who use the 'end of the world' narrative for its impact and resultant effect on public action.
 * 'Green consumerism' narratives, which encourage individuals to make informed consumer choices. This can detract from the global nature of climate change, instead placing responsibility on the individual.
 * Geoengineering climate change narratives, which focus on large-scale, geoengineering solutions such as solar mirrors, or ocean cooling pumps.

Limitations to climate change narratives
Climate change narratives can be useful for communicating specific issues, and for rallying support as seen through the Extinction Rebellion and School Strike for Climate movements, which used shock narratives to encourage people to sign up. These narratives can also have limitations, however, as they are often not considerate of non-Western or non-Global North perspectives, as well as sometimes being ableist (especially as seen with the ban on plastic straws which fits into the 'green consumerism' narrative).