Climate Change Communication in the Global South: Media Framing, Public Trust, and Behavioural Response in Lagos, Nigeria
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Climate change communication is central to public understanding, trust, and behavioural response, particularly in rapidly urbanising cities of the Global South. Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital and one of Africa’s largest megacities, faces increasing climate-related risks, including flooding, extreme heat, and environmental degradation driven by waste. This study examines how climate change is framed in Nigerian media and how such framing influences public trust and behavioural responses among urban residents in Lagos. Anchored in framing and agenda-setting theories, the study adopts a mixed-methods approach combining content analysis of selected Nigerian newspapers (2019–2022) with survey data from Lagos residents. Findings indicate that climate change coverage is dominated by disaster- and event-oriented frames, with limited emphasis on solutions, citizen agency, or local adaptation strategies. Although public awareness of climate change is relatively high, uneven trust in media and institutional sources contributes to a persistent gap between awareness and sustained behavioural change. The study argues that localised, solution-oriented, and participatory communication strategies are critical for strengthening trust and motivating climate-responsive behaviour in urban Nigeria. By foregrounding Lagos as a case study, the paper contributes to the de-Westernisation of climate communication scholarship and advances understanding of climate engagement in Global South megacities.
Institution: Lagos State University
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7212371231
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