ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Commun.

Sec. Science and Environmental Communication

Environmental communication as networked micro-solutions: Addressing global wicked problems in Indonesia and Kazakhstan

  • 1. The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States

  • 2. Boston University, Boston, United States

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Abstract

The powerful messages of doomsday and end-of-world scenarios related to climate change can lead to apathy and inaction. To counter these wicked problem narratives that seem unsolvable, we turn to examples of people power as a form of micro-solutions that network across people, solutions, and regions to address the effects of climate change. Furthermore, such micro actions offer possibilities for a different future that in turn inspire others to act within a framework of optimism rather than one of paralysis. We explore these themes through two case study countries, Indonesia and Kazakhstan, using examples within both countries to illustrate the potential of these micro-solutions and networks.

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Keywords

Climate justice, global communication, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Wicked Problems

Received

10 December 2025

Accepted

26 February 2026

Copyright

© 2026 Sowards and Ospanbayeva. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Stacey Kathryn Sowards; Akniyet Ospanbayeva

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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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