Strategic Framings for Climate Change Adaptation Legislation in Brazil

What types of messages most effectively mobilize policymakers to pass climate adaptation and mitigation legislation? This pilot investigates how strategic framings can spur local legislators in Brazil to pass climate legislation promoting low-carbon, resilient food systems. This legislation is crucial in Brazil, a top global greenhouse gas emitter where changing precipitation and temperature threaten food production. In order to pass however, legislation must be politically viable. This project is a collaboration between Rede A Ponte, a Brazilian NGO with a proven track record helping local policymakers pass legislation, and researchers at UC Berkeley and Fundação Getulio Vargas. The research builds on Rede A Ponte’s approach of supporting legislators to implement impactful policies via targeted outreach and providing high-quality legislative bills. The researchers will randomize invitations to engage with a climate-relevant legislative proposal to 500 municipal legislators across Brazil (prioritizing women legislators and communities with high climate risk). To identify politically salient entry points, the intervention tests two framing strategies: (1) messages emphasizing climate change risks and the need for adaptation and mitigation measures, and (2) messages highlighting food insecurity and the importance of stable agricultural systems. This design allows us to assess whether immediate, tangible concerns generate higher legislative engagement than a more technical, future-oriented climate narrative. Using administrative data, the pilot will track outcomes related to legislator participation, bill support, and long-term climate agenda engagement. By addressing how to communicate with policymakers about climate legislation, this research provides a replicable, scalable model for climate policy intervention at the subnational level.