A scrollytelling
for climate education

This is a visual data essay at the interface between information visualisation and editorial design, which focuses on the Earth system in the age of the Anthropocene. The aim is to make the topic of planetary boundaries tangible using vivid examples and revealing data.

The topic

Justice ≠ Equality

Justice is based on creating equal opportunities between people. However, exclusive equal treatment is not a solution, because people have different prerequisites and can contribute differently depending on their life circumstances.
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Instead of emphasizing these differences, it should be ensured that the prerequisites are improved. It is important to take individual differences into account in order to create real justice.

The goal

How might we ...
explain the concept of climate justice inclusively and promote motivation and inspiration for climate action in everyday’s life?

Together as an interdisciplinary design team, we developed a ‘How might we’ question that served us as a common guideline for the development of the scrollytelling. 

Three main personas helped us to keep track of users’ individual needs and how we can address them throughout the scrollytelling. The focus was on the ‘extreme users’, which are classified according to their attitude towards climate justice as well as their accessibility to educational climate information in general.  

Elements of storytelling

Split content bits

The story begins with a two-part narrative, one about the definition of justice and the other introducing the topic of climate.

Visually, the focus is initially only on the term ‘justice’ = Gerechtigkeit. As you scroll down, the term changes into ‘climate’ = Klima. If you scroll further, these two terms come together and open the narrative about climate justice.

Moving data visualisation

To illustrate the injustice in climate issues, this data visualisation changes with the scrolling speed of the reader and highlights these three aspects of selected countries:

• CO2 emission (per capita in 2017)
  in connection with
• The gross domestic product (2017)
  and in connection with
• The Climate Risk Index (Germanwatch)
  

Selectable plotlines

To shift the focus from the abstract global level to a local, we have developed three stories that users can chose from. These stories are set in Berlin, the Philippines and the Himalayas to capture diversity.

By clicking on these stories, the reader leaves the linear storyline and follows their choice to reflect on their own consumption and learn why an individual carbon footprint doesn't say as much about our ability to reduce it.

The impact

After its development, the scrollytelling was actively used by members of the 'Kippunkt Kollektiv’ as a lively part of their workshops and educational events around climate justice. 

The content of this scrollytelling was developed in cooperation with sustainability and natural scientists from Scientists4Future – an interdisciplinary association of scientists.

Moreover, the scrollytelling was officially published on the climate webpage hostet by University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.