Climate change communication failing to reach many Ghanaians, collaboration with creatives crucial – KNUST researcher

A climate researcher at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Enoch Bessah, has raised concerns about gaps in climate change communication in Ghana, saying that many people only become aware of the crisis after experiencing its effects directly.

According to him, climate communication has largely failed to reach the wider population in ways that make the issue relatable and easy to understand.

Dr Bessah, who leads Climate Change and Ecosystem Services Monitoring at the DIPPER Lab, KNUST, made the remarks during the first panel discussion at the Climate x Culture Summit.

The Climate x Culture Summit was held under the theme “Designing Sustainable Creative Experiences for Africa,” and brought together voices to explore the intersection of climate action, culture and creativity.

Responding to concerns about whether climate change is being communicated effectively to the Ghanaian public, Dr Bessah answered in the negative.

“I will say no. Since the majority are still in the dark and they only get to know it when they are hit with the impact, then we are not doing well,” he said.

He attributed the challenge partly to a disconnect between scientists and the broader public, noting that important scientific research often fails to reach as many people as messages communicated through popular culture and creative platforms.

“Unfortunately, it is because of this disparity between we the scientists and those that are actually heard,” he explained.

Dr Bessah said a climate change song by a popular musician such as Okyeame Kwame could potentially reach far more people within a year than a scientific article published in an academic journal.

“Assuming that Okyeame Kwame has a music which is on climate change, just in a year, the number of people who know about it will be more than my article that has been in the journal for so many years that you don't even know that it is there,” he said.

He stressed that climate change awareness in Ghana appears to be highest among people whose livelihoods are directly affected by changing weather patterns and environmental conditions.

“For instance, the farmer, because he knows that a little change in what will happen in the season will affect him or her, is more conscious of it,” he noted.

He added that construction workers are also likely to be conscious of changing weather conditions because unexpected changes can directly affect their work.

However, Dr Bessah expressed concern that many people whose daily activities contribute to environmental problems may not fully understand the consequences of their actions.

He cited indiscriminate waste disposal as an example, explaining that people may not realise that dumping waste on the streets can worsen flooding and increase the impact of even relatively short periods of rainfall.

“The rest that are actually contributing to the things that are affecting the climate, they don't know that leaving waste on the street would actually increase the impact of little rains that lasted for one hour,” he said.

Dr Bessah concluded that Ghana must broaden the channels through which climate change is communicated, particularly by embracing culture, creativity and other forms of communication that can reach ordinary citizens.

“We are not doing well because we have limited the media of this climate change communication,” he stated.