Environmental Communication in a Post-Pandemic World

People around the world appear to have moved on from the COVID-19 pandemic, at least mentally. However, the pandemic has remaining consequences, such as severe inflation, worsening international relations, and rising domestic protests. Uncertainty about the future thus remains high. How do people perceive and deal with risks to public health, such as environmental risks, in our post-pandemic world? What are the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactions to those risks, now that we can finally get back to a seemingly normal life? Are people tired of handling risks or becoming more worried? What are the challenges that different entities face to communicate those risks?

The aim of this Research Topic is to gain an insight into individuals' perceptions and behaviors in relation to environmental risks, ultimately aiming to uncover more effective communication strategies to inform and persuade individuals about such risks. Issues to be considered include people's understanding of climate change, air pollution, species extinction, and drought; media representation of the same risks in a post-pandemic world; formal and informal communication of those risks; and evaluations of current environmental communication.

Manuscripts that draw on a variety of scholarly and practitioner perspectives and methods are welcome. Research contexts can be situated in a diverse set of countries. We especially encourage research addressing environmental communication in non-Western contexts. Manuscripts can focus on a variety of environmental risks, such as climate change, drought, coastal erosion, and air pollution.

Specific themes to be addressed include, but are not limited to, the following:

• climate communication in a post-pandemic world
• trust and environmental risk communication
• risk aversion and environmental communication
• psychological well-being and environmental engagement
• mass and social media discourses on environmental risks
• NGOs’ role in tackling environmental risks
• uncertainty reduction related to environmental risks
• seeking information about risks in a post-pandemic world
• the applicability of risk theories and models to contemporary contexts
• environmental advocacy and engagement in non-Western countries
• the use of digital media in coping with environmental risks.

Keywords: environment, pandemic, communication, risk, media, psychology

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.