The Visual Life of Climate Change
By Saffron O’Neill
Published
Dec 1, 2025Page count
192 pagesISBN
978-1529250022Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Dec 1, 2025Page count
192 pagesISBN
978-1529250039Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Dec 1, 2025Page count
192 pagesISBN
978-1529250046Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University Press
Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.
Images can play a key role in communication – but climate change imagery can be formulaic and narrow in perspective. Going beyond polar bears and wildfires, this book is a manifesto for opening up the visual discourse on climate.
Rather than portraying scenarios that can be remote from many people’s lives, Saffron O’Neill shows how images can be powerful tools to engage viewers and enable them to connect different issues together. With engaging case studies and practical advice throughout, the book shows how visuals can represent climate change in a more ethical manner on social and traditional media platforms.
Saffron O’Neill is Associate Professor in Geography at the University of Exeter.
Foreword
Preface
1. Introduction: ‘Just tell me, what’s the best climate image?
2. Adaptation: Heatwaves and Small Islands
3. Impacts: Polar bears
4. Energy: Wind turbines and smokestacks
5. Science: Climate stripes and burning embers
6. People: Politicians and protestors
7. Conclusion: Beyond visual metonyms
