How 'inconvenient' is Al Gore's climate message?

Abstract

The release of Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth and his subsequent training of thousands of Climate Presenters marks a critical transition point in communication around climate change. This paper will show that key elements of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, and the advice and training he gives to Climate Presenters are based on the results of research into marketing approaches to creating behavioural change. This paper will then consider the ultimate effectiveness of this approach to Climate change communication in the light of the critique of such marketing approaches to communicating on environmental issues in the 2008 WWF report, “Weathercocks & signposts”.