Stakeholders in Climate Change
Stakeholder
A stakeholder is any person, group or institution that has an interest in or is affected by climate change and may influence decisions related to it.
- Everyone is a stakeholder, but their roles, influence and vulnerability differ widely.
- Stakeholders can shape how individuals understand and respond to climate change.
- Influence depends on trust, access to information and personal relevance.
- Key stakeholder groups include charismatic individuals, local community groups, NGOs, media organisations and educational institutions.
How Stakeholders Influence Public Perspectives
1. Charismatic Individuals
- Public figures can bring emotional engagement and urgency to the climate debate.
- They often encourage younger people to participate in environmental activism.
- They help transform awareness into motivation for behaviour change.
Sir David Attenborough, Al Gore and Greta Thunberg
Charismatic individuals act like spotlights, illuminating complex scientific issues that many would otherwise overlook.
2. Local Community Groups
- They address climate change that affects everyday life, such as recycling, water conservation and flood preparedness.
- People are more likely to act when changes are practical and visible in their own neighbourhood.
- Community initiatives strengthen social responsibility and collective participation.
Local groups often emphasize the co-benefits of climate action, such as improved air quality or economic savings from energy efficiency.
- Community flood-adaptation projects in Bangladesh provide training and raised housing structures.
- These solutions have directly improved resilience and encouraged stronger belief in adaptation strategies.
3. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
- NGOs conduct research, deliver education campaigns and advocate for policy change.
- They support vulnerable communities who are at high risk from climate impacts.
- Their influence depends on funding, local support and scientific credibility.
NGOs often serve as a link between local communities and powerful decision-makers, ensuring that those most affected are heard.
4. Media and Communication
- Media determines how climate information is presented and whether it is seen as a scientific consensus or a controversial debate.
- Reliable journalism can improve climate literacy, while biased reporting can cause confusion or denial.
- Social media spreads information quickly but can also amplify misinformation.
- Cold weather does not disprove climate change.
- Climate refers to long-term global patterns, not short-term local weather.
- How does the media's portrayal of climate change differ across cultures or political systems?
- What role does bias play in shaping public opinion?
5. Educational Institutions
- Schools and universities teach scientific knowledge and critical thinking about climate issues.
- Education encourages long-term sustainable behaviour.
- Students can influence their families and communities by sharing evidence-based understanding.
How do we decide which climate sources are “trustworthy”? To what extent do emotion and personal identity influence the acceptance of scientific evidence?
Perspectives on Climate Change
Perspective
A perspective is a point of view that reflects how an individual perceives and understands the world, based on their beliefs, values, and lived experiences.
- Perspectives differ because people experience climate change impacts unevenly and prioritise different economic, social and cultural values.
- Climate responses depend on personal risk perception, lifestyle needs, access to information, economic security and trust in institutions.
- Disagreements occur because people evaluate the necessity, practicality and urgency of climate action differently.
Why Perspectives Differ
1. Age Groups
- Younger generations generally support rapid climate action because they will live longest with the future consequences of global warming.
- Older generations sometimes prioritise economic stability or personal comfort, since climate impacts may feel less directly threatening in their lifetime.
2. Developed and Developing Societies
- High-income countries have greater financial and technological capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
- Lower-income and middle-income countries frequently prioritise economic growth and poverty reduction before decarbonisation.
- Many developing nations argue that high-income nations gained wealth through fossil fuel exploitation and therefore carry the greatest responsibility to support global mitigation.
Vulnerable developing nations are often least responsible for emissions but most affected by climate impacts.
Sweden aims to be carbon neutral by 2045, using policies like carbon taxes and renewable energy investments.
3. Coastal and Inland Communities
- Coastal and low-lying island nations experience sea-level rise, storm surges and saltwater intrusion, making climate action urgent.
- Inland areas may perceive climate risks as slower or less visible, resulting in weaker motivation to act.
The Maldives is investing in floating infrastructure to combat rising seas.
4. Economies Profiting from Fossil Fuels vs. Economies Shifting to Renewables
- Fossil-fuel-dependent countries prioritise economic security, jobs and industrial competitiveness and therefore may resist rapid climate transitions.
- Renewable-focused economies view mitigation as both environmentally beneficial and economically advantageous, because it can stimulate innovation and green employment.
Saudi Arabia is investing in carbon capture and storage to balance its oil-based economy with climate goals.
5. Worldview and Cultural Values
- Anthropocentric perspectives approach climate issues primarily through policy, economic planning and management strategies.
- Technocentric perspectives trust innovation and engineering as the best solutions to climate change.
- Ecocentric perspectives promote a shift toward harmony with nature and reduced human consumption.
- Explain two ways charismatic individuals can influence climate perspectives.
- How can media both support and hinder climate action?
- Why do developing nations often delay rapid decarbonisation?
- Compare how coastal and inland communities may perceive climate risk differently.
- How does worldview shape opinions on appropriate climate solutions?
