Awareness - California Climate and Energy Collaborative

Barrier 2. Awareness, Education and Language Accessibility

Barrier Statement

Gaps in communication, education, and outreach limit communities’ ability to connect climate issues with everyday concerns and sustain broad, intergenerational understanding.

Filterable Database

How communities are experiencing this barrier

View the details on what communities have shared with SLECC from across the state.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Statewide

Climate information is too technical, jargon-heavy, and poorly translated, limiting community understanding. Residents may grasp climate impacts but not the terminology, and literal translations lack cultural context. Data-dense presentations are hard to follow, while visual tools like infographics and murals communicate risks more effectively.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Statewide

Insufficient and inconsistent language access limits participation and understanding. Engagement and program materials—particularly technical content—are often not available in the languages communities speak or are translated inconsistently. As a result, non-English-speaking communities are excluded from meaningful participation, and CBOs are forced to fill gaps by translating materials themselves, increasing burden and inequity.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles

Intergenerational climate education is fragmented, creating uneven understanding across age groups. Schools vary in teaching climate concepts, and some families rely on children to translate information for adults, limiting shared community-wide climate knowledge.

Key challenge discussed in - Los Angeles, Statewide

Lack of public understanding: Community members don’t always understand why they’re being asked to participate because there’s no primer linking technical issues to everyday concerns (e.g., public health, housing, jobs)

Key challenge discussed in - Statewide

Inconsistent and fragmented messaging across state agencies creates confusion. Local governments reported difficulty educating communities when state strategies, terminology, and communications are not aligned or easy to explain.

Local Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by local leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

Local Solution

Meet residents where they already gather through in-person engagement in familiar community spaces.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Statewide

Local Solution

Maintain consistent community input during both planning and implementation.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Los Angeles, Statewide

Local Solution

Use clear, relatable, and visual communication to explain climate and energy concepts. Local governments should translate technical information into plain, human-centered messaging and use visual tools—such as infographics, maps, photos, murals, and storytelling—to connect climate and energy issues to everyday experiences and community priorities.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. Visual and language-based tools: In Bassett/Avocado Heights, Spanish-speaking communities responded best to pictures, infographics, and descriptive terms rather than literal translations of “amenities” and “energy efficiency.” Murals and multilingual displays (like the water mural in Santa Anita Park) served as effective entry points. 2. COVID-era color-coded risk communication as a model for making complex information understandable to the public.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Los Angeles, Statewide

State Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by state leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

State Solution

Improve consistency, clarity, and accessibility of statewide climate and energy communication. The state should align climate and energy messaging across agencies and fund shared, high-quality communication resources—such as infographics, videos, and visual storytelling—that local governments and CBOs can use for outreach. All materials should be multilingual, plain-language, and culturally grounded, with requirements applied consistently across state-funded programs. To reduce translation burden and improve consistency, the state should also develop a climate language directory with standardized translations of technical terms and plain-language equivalents for agencies and community partners.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Statewide

State Solution

Partner with school districts and higher ed to integrate climate concepts across curricula, ensuring intergenerational climate literacy

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Los Angeles

Solution Spotlight

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Additional Resources

Please share any additional resources you would like to include by emailing eecoordinator@civicwell.org.