Why the Guardian is changing the language it uses about the environment
Damian Carrington Environment editor
The Guardian has updated its style guide to introduce terms that more accurately describe the environmental crises facing the world.Instead of “climate change” the preferred terms are “climate emergency, crisis or breakdown” and “global heating” is favoured over “global warming”, said the editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner. “The phrase ‘climate change’, for example, sounds rather passive and gentle when what scientists are talking about is a catastrophe for humanity.”... The United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, talked of the “climate crisis” in September, adding: “We face a direct existential threat.”
FROM THE NEW STYLE GUIDE
Climate Camp disbanded in March 2011; its full name was Camp for Climate Action
climate change is no longer considered to accurately reflect the seriousness of the situation; use climate emergency, crisis or breakdown instead
climate science denier or climate denier The OED defines a sceptic as “a seeker of the truth; an inquirer who has not yet arrived at definite conclusions”.
Most “climate sceptics”, in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence, deny climate change is happening, or is caused by human activity, so denier is more accurate
