Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

Being aware can lead us to demand public measures

To address the issue of the climate crisis, clear, direct and effective communication is essential. To do this, Angela Alonso Jurnet has created a useful tool within her doctoral thesis at the UPV: Decalogue of Communication Opportunities in the Digital Ecosystem.

Alonso didn’t think about it when he decided to do the Audiovisual Communication degree. He did the degree because he was interested in cinema and social networks, and then he was not very clear about what to do, so he entered the Master in Social Communication. And then he “fell in love”: “At the time, I had nothing to do with science or research. It’s true that I liked to read about these topics, but until I got a master’s degree I didn’t worry about communicating about climate change,” he confesses.

“I realized that the climate crisis involved a lot of other issues, and somehow it put us in our place.”

However, during the master’s degree, he realized that the debates that are taking place in society on climate change are focused. “I realized that the climate crisis involved a lot of other issues that somehow put us in our place. Although there are conflicts between us, we are condemned to live on the same planet and depend on it. Therefore, it must be stimulating for everyone. And it seemed to me that transmitting it was a big responsibility for the media and digital platforms.”

This is how the desire arose to investigate the communication about the climate crisis. “It’s incredibly attractive because it’s connected to many current debates, such as the future of journalism, the relationship between information and activism, polarization, and now also artificial intelligence,” he explains.

However, he admits that the challenge was not weak, since there was still a lot to investigate in this area, so he had a lot of work ahead of him. In addition, as he began to investigate communication on digital platforms, he saw that he had a big problem: the platforms are constantly changing and he had to take a still picture. Finally, he decided to carry out his thesis through a collection of publications and combining different methodologies, under the direction of Ainara Larrondo Ureta and Jordi Morales i Gras. And he presents the decalogue as the final result of the thesis

The first step, literacy in society

For Alonso, in the communication of the climate crisis, the focus has been mainly on the consequences. “But that leads to paralysis. In fact, the feeling that the problem is too big is transmitted: big in space and big in time. This approach creates disappointment. By then, I was already reading other studies that were trying to propose solutions in order to promote mobilization.”

“it seems to me that being aware can lead us to demand public measures.”

He warns that, in part, he is also critical of this approach, since he does not believe that individual decisions can change everything. “But it does seem to me that being aware can lead us to demand public measures. To do this, I think it is important to stop politicizing. Climate change is currently being used as a political debate, but it should be excluded. Because it is not a question of opinion, but of science. But the right has always tried to make a negationist or obstructive use. Therefore, I believe that literacy in society is necessary. In my opinion, this is the first step towards demanding political measures.”

To this end, it has created the Decalogue of Communicative Possibilities in the Digital Ecosystem. now he continues to delve into the subject in the Gureiker group. “After the thesis, I had almost more questions than answers. And I want to investigate new methodologies, new formats, the issue of artificial intelligence That's what I'm doing." From now on, we will continue to be aware of his work.

Angela Alonso Jurnet (Salamanca, 1996) has been a PhD in Social Communication since 2025. Previously, he completed the Degree in Audiovisual Communication at the University of Salamanca (USAL) and the Master in Social Communication at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). He has always had a passion for communication in all its manifestations and for nature and our relationship with it. In his research he unexpectedly found a way to reconcile these two vocations.