Step 8: Communicate Climate Change Information
These results would be combined with other analyses (e.g. rainfall, drought, pests, disease, extreme events) and presented in the appropriate form to the appropriate audience. Forms of communication may include:
- Briefings to decision-makers
- Presentations at meetings and conferences
- Summary reports or brochures
- Media releases
- Scientific paper outlining the results (to add scientific credibility to the findings).
This communication would address the three goals set out in step 2:
- Raising awareness– alerting stakeholders to the potential issues
- Analysing impact and informing potential adaptation pathways
- Motivating mitigation – there is a large benefit in staying on RCP2.6 or RCP4.5 compared to RCP8.5
The framework to understand the range of results should be explained, including the emissions scenarios, time periods, range of results. Confidence in the results should be explained and given as a rating – temperature projections are generally high confidence. Important aspects or caveats of the results should be given – in this case, the observed climate surface is less accurate than in places with more weather stations, and the baseline period in observations is slightly different than in projections.