Table 2 Key findings and implications for health and climate communications

When prompted, most Canadians perceive climate change as harmful to human health.

- There is awareness of the health harms of climate change, which suggests that a public health framing in climate communications may resonate to some extent with Canadians

- The majority of people are likely open to information about the health risks of climate change, given that they accept that it is harmful.

People towards the left on the political spectrum and those with higher educational attainment are relatively more concerned about climate health impacts than the rest of the Canadian population.

- Variable levels of concern suggest that health framing in climate communications is likely to be more successful in reaching those already worried about climate change

Canadians who are more concerned about climate change are also more concerned about the health impacts of climate change.

- Messages about health impacts of climate change which are of lower concern (e.g. mental health, infectious diseases) may not resonate with certain audiences. This may impact the effectiveness of a health framing of climate risks.

Canadians have different levels of concern about specific health impacts, with highest concern for future generations, food and water security, and respiratory impacts from air quality, and lowest for mental health and heat stroke impacts.

- Communicators seeking to operationalize targeted public health framings in climate change communications may choose to focus on specific health impacts of high or low concern, depending on their objectives.

- Climate communicators hoping to reach the largest audiences with messages that resonate might use the areas of highest concern in their messaging.