Harnessing Social Media for Climate Action in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Egypt

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript seems to be elaborate with more recent results and conclusions. It needs to be improved with some errors highlighted in the attached file. 

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Must be improved

Author Response

Answers to Reviewer 1:

 

Thank you sincerely for your insightful comments on our article. We have addressed each of your points as carefully as possible, and your suggestions have contributed to improving our article. Thank you once again for your constructive critique.

 

 

 

make the objectives of the study more clear with more solid background of the study.

 

This has been addressed and changed to:

 

Thanks. The introduction has been expanded for clarity, and the research objectives have also been clarified:

 

Line 121: This study investigates not only what emotional framing works best within social media messaging for fostering engagement and pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) amongst the Egyptian public concerning climate change but also what a limited budget can achieve in terms of reach. Employing Facebook A/B testing as the primary metric for engagement, the study conducts a comparative analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of messages utilising hope, fear, or a rational appeal in raising awareness and promoting sustainable practices. By analysing how message framing influences user engagement on a cost-effective platform like Facebook, this research can provide valuable insights for NGOs seeking to maximize their outreach and impact with limited resources.

 

 

 

on what aspects??? like increased temperature?? changes in rainfall patterns?

 

Thank you. This is a very useful comment, as adding these data provides further justification for the research. This has now been addressed in the introduction:

 

 

Line 22: Climate change poses a significant threat, particularly to developing nations. While international conferences like COP26 (Conference of the Parties) [1] in 2021 addressed climate mitigation strategies (e.g., emissions targets, renewable energy) [2], the challenge lies in effective communication and instigating behavioral change. This research explores the potential of digital solutions for promoting a circular economy and sustainability in developing countries, using Egypt as a case study. The African continent, heavily reliant on agriculture, faces a disproportionate impact from climate change. Egypt's Nile Delta is a prime example, identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as highly vulnerable [3]. Selwin Hart, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General, highlighted the disproportionate impact of global warming on Africa, particularly in terms of its adverse effects on agriculture [4]. Schilling et al. [5] [6] projected that Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria are expected to experience severe temperature increases, leading to drought and water shortages. In the same vein, Driouech et al. [7] [8] anticipated extreme climate changes in the MENA region. Hamelin and Nwankwo [9] [10] showed that reduced precipitation and increased temperature in Morocco are the main driver of the decline of the cedar forest. On a national level, Egypt, like many other countries, is significantly affected by climate change, experiencing increased temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns leading to more extreme weather events, rising sea levels threatening its crucial Nile Delta, and land degradation that reduces its agricultural capacity [11] [12]. [13]. This was recently confirmed by Abuzaid and Abdelatif (2022) [14], who conducted research using satellite imagery on the north Nile Delta region of Egypt, covering an area of 8607.13 km2. Their findings reveal that 72% of the area can be classified as critically sensitive to desertification, with 70% being highly critical and 2% moderately critical. Egypt’s population growth (109.3 million in 2022) is another critical concern leading to the country facing a severe water shortage, with a deficit of about 20 BCM.[15]

 

Please further explain the meaning of field experiment

 

Thank you, again this needed to be developed further, and we have now given more attention to this section and changed to:

 

Line 522 Material and Methods

Effectively communicating the urgency of climate change necessitates understanding how people respond to various messaging strategies. This study employs a field experiment conducted through Facebook AB testing to evaluate the effectiveness of different ad appeals in promoting climate change awareness. While business researchers often resort to controlled laboratory experiments for their high internal validity, these settings can suffer from artificiality, data contamination, and a disconnect between the study and real-world management concerns [60] [61]. Field experiments address these limitations but traditionally demand significant time and resources. In this context, a field experiment involves testing an intervention (the ad appeals) in a real-world setting, such as the Facebook platform. This approach ensures results are more generalisable to real-world social media use, as opposed to a controlled lab environment. Although controlled la-boratory experiments boast high internal validity (confidence in the cause-and-effect relationship) [62], their artificiality and potential for data contamination often limit their generalizability to real-world scenarios [60]. Field experiments mitigate this by testing interventions within an authentic environment, mimicking actual user behavior. In this study, the Facebook platform serves as our real-world setting, providing a more ecologically valid assessment of user responses to climate change messaging [61]. Facebook AB testing bridges this gap by furnishing an alternative online field setting that is both ecologically valid and allows for testing manipulated variables within user-facing stimuli (like ads) [60]. This method enables advertisers to assess different ad creatives, audiences, or placements to determine which approach yields better engagement or conversion rates. User engagement, measured by the number of clicks, reactions, comments, and shares, serves as the primary metric. Facebook AB testing was selected for its suitability in this study due to several reasons: it eliminates algorithm optimisation bias, provides a natural online field setting where participants are unaware of the variables being tested, minimizes bias since the target population is randomly assigned, eliminates hidden incentives or risks of cheating, provides a highly representative and externally valid sample that can be generalised to the population, and ensures even splits and comparable statistics among different versions of the measured variable [62]; [60]; [61].

 

 

 

 

How you construct these research questions???

 

Thanks, yes this needed to be clarified: We have addressed it and provided furterh explanation:

 

 

Line 947: They subsequently completed a survey based on their chosen ad, which included the following questions to address two main areas: 1) Clarity and Emotional Response: Did participants understand the ad's message and feel the intended emotion (fear, hope, or rational)? 2) Ad Preference and Engagement:  Which ad did they prefer and why, providing insights into what elements might resonate best with the target audience.

 

 

 

Make it more clear. It looks like too messy and showing less meaning regarding the results description

 

 

Thanks, we have added Table 1 and Table 2 to provide more detail as well as clarify and expand the findings section :

 

All social media ads achieved similar click-through rates, around 0.3% (Table 2). However, user engagement varied by emotional appeal:

 

• Hope Appeal: Reaching the most users (616,000) with a slight female and younger demographic (18-24 years old), it generated the fewest clicks (1,773, CTR: 0.28%) and minimal reactions, shares, and saves. This suggests the message resonated with a broader audience (reaching 616,000 users) but didn't compel them to actively engage.

 

• Fear Appeal: Reaching a slightly smaller, more male-dominated audience (25-44 years old), the fear appeal generated slightly more clicks (1,799, CTR: 0.29%) and reactions/shares compared to hope. While it garnered some attention, it wasn't significantly more effective than hope in driving clicks (1,799 vs. 1,773 clicks).

 

• Rational Appeal: Despite reaching slightly fewer users (595,000), with a more balanced gender distribution, the rational appeal achieved the most clicks (2,080, CTR: 0.34%) and post interactions (58 reactions, 4 shares). This suggests users preferred factual information and were more likely to engage with this type of message, generating the most clicks (2,080) and post interactions (58 reactions, 4 shares).

 

Overall, click-through rates were similar, but the rational appeal generated the most clicks and engagement, indicating a user preference for straightforward information. However, engagement across all ads remained low (minimal shares, comments, and saves), suggesting users might passively consume the information without actively sharing it. (Table 2)

 

 

Also add standard errors

 

 

 

Regarding your request to add standard errors, Facebook ad reporting provides exact counts for metrics like link clicks, reactions, shares, and saves.  Standard errors are typically used when data points are estimates based on samples, and Facebook ad reports deliver confirmed results.

 

 

 

 

Use another color to make thr graph more clear

 

Thank you: This has been addressed and changed to:

 

The graph has been adjusted to ensure clarity in both print and digital formats. The data point colour has been changed to dark blue to account for potential black-and-white printing. The original data point markers (full circles) have been replaced with filled triangles and hollow circles to improve visual distinction, especially in grayscale. Finally, any fitted trend lines have been modified to use dashed and solid line styles, separating different trends on the same graph.

 

 

 

Eleborate the discussion with more solid evidences and storming more literature related to your research.

 

 

Thank you for your useful comments. This revised discussion section provides a more in-depth analysis of the findings by incorporating additional references and explanations. It explores the potential reasons behind user engagement patterns and highlights the cost-effectiveness of climate change messaging on Facebook

 

Line 1072:

 

Discussion: Climate Change Communication on Social Media: Hope, Fear, or Facts?

This study investigated the impact of emotional appeals (hope, fear, and rational) on user engagement with social media climate change advertisements. While click-through rates (CTR) remained similar across all appeals (around 0.3%), the results revealed valuable insights into user behavior and content preferences.

 

Hope Appeal: Reaching the most users (616,000), the hope appeal offered the widest reach, potentially due to its positive and optimistic tone. However, this wider audience (616,000) did not translate into higher engagement. It generated the fewest clicks (1,773), reactions, shares, and saves.

 

Fear Appeal: Compared to hope, the fear appeal had a slightly smaller audience with a more male-dominated demographic (390,000 users, 25-44 years old). However, it generated slightly more clicks (1,799) and reactions/shares (28 vs 44 for hope). While fear can grab attention, its effectiveness seems limited. The negligible increase in clicks compared to hope suggests fear might not be a significantly stronger driver of user action. Additionally, fear appeal content wasn't shared substantially more (4 shares vs 0 for hope). These findings align with ongoing discussions in climate change communication research regarding the potential for fear to lead to passive responses like avoidance, denial, or helplessness due to the seemingly insurmountable nature of the threat, suggesting messages emphasizing hope might be more effective [65; 66].

 

Rational Appeal: Although reaching slightly fewer users (596,000) compared to hope, the rational appeal emerged as the most successful in driving engagement. Users exposed to the rational appeal displayed a clear preference for factual information, evidenced by the highest click-through rate (0.34%) and the most post interactions (58 reactions, 4 shares). This finding supports the work of some researchers who suggest that clear and concise factual information is highly effective in engaging users with complex issues like climate change [67; 68]. Users exposed to the rational appeal not only clicked more frequently (2,080 clicks) but also interacted more actively with the content through reactions and shares. However, these findings seem to contradict research suggesting human information processing, decision-making, and behavior are significantly influenced by emotions. Recent research emphasises the crucial role of affective processes in facilitating cognitive function, highlighting the intricate link between emotions and cognitive/motivational processes [66]. Despite their impact, emotions are still identified as key drivers of responses to climate change.

 

5.1 A Call for Deeper Engagement:

While click-through rates were similar across appeals, the overall level of engagement remained relatively low. The minimal shares, comments, and saves suggest a tendency towards passive information consumption. Users might be absorbing the information but not actively sharing it with their networks. This highlights a crucial gap in climate change communication – the need to move beyond clicks towards fostering active user participation. Future campaigns might benefit from stronger calls to action that encourage users to share information, participate in discussions, or take concrete steps towards sustainability [66].

 

5.2 Cost Considerations:

The cost per click (CPC) remained consistent across all appeals (average CPC = $0.07), which is considerably lower than the global average CPC across industries ($1.72) ([reference source]). Furthermore, the CPC for the fear appeal was lower than the average for "Environmental Protection" campaigns on Facebook ($0.58) [69]. This lower CPC suggests that climate change messaging, regardless of appeal type, may benefit from relatively favourable advertising costs on Facebook. This information can be valuable for practitioners and organizations developing communication strategies for climate change awareness campaigns. They can estimate campaign budgets and expected outcomes based on the study findings while also having a benchmark for campaign performance compared to global averages.

 

However, cost is just one factor in social media campaign effectiveness. Micro-targeting, a critical strength of platforms like Facebook, offers exciting possibilities. While research specifically on tailoring climate change communication is limited, parallel studies in health and environmental risk communication suggest promise. Meta-analyses show that tailoring health messages to individual beliefs about self-efficacy can significantly impact attitudes and behaviors [70]. With the rise of micro-targeting technology on social media platforms like Facebook, climate change communication can leverage this potential for personalisation, potentially leading to greater effectiveness.

 

 

 

It is more confusing. make it shorter with more focus on the main idea and main results of the study.

 

Thank you for this useful comment. Please find below a revised version.

 

Line 1140: This study investigated the effectiveness of emotional appeals (hope, fear, and rational) in social media climate change messaging on Facebook. While click-through rates (CTR) were similar across all appeals, the results highlight some key insights: The study found factual messages sparked the most engagement on social media for climate change action (clicks, reactions, shares) [71]. Fear appeals saw slightly more clicks but minimal sharing [71]. Hopeful messages reached the most users but had the lowest engagement [71], suggesting passive information consumption and a need for stronger calls to action [71]. The campaign achieved a remarkable reach of nearly 2 million users (2.3% of Egypt's internet users) with a modest budget of $377, demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of social media for climate change awareness [72]. This highlights the value of social media for reaching a broad audience but emphasises the need for content that goes beyond clicks, prompting active participation through stronger calls to action [71]

 

In conclusion, Facebook presents a powerful platform for targeted and insightful climate change communication.  Its strength lies in the ability to reach large, specific audiences.  Precise targeting based on location, demographics, and interests ensures messages resonate with the most receptive populations.  Facebook Ads function as a feedback loop by providing a wealth of performance insights (CTR, page likes) on how users engage with the content.  By analysing this data, campaign managers can refine their messaging and optimise content for better engagement, ultimately fostering a deeper understanding of climate change issues.  Digital tools like Facebook can be leveraged to raise awareness, encourage behaviour change, and inspire a more environmentally conscious future, ultimately influencing government initiatives in this critical area.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Climate change is a current issue worldwide. The lack of awareness in some sectors might be the reason why, although organizations suggest strategies, most people are not even aware of these institutions and the importance of these actions. The creation of social media and the popularity of these tools to share information might be a valuable method to increase the awareness of the public sector about climate change. The present study shows an interesting approach to this issue. While I commend the authors for their efforts and consider that providing scientific-based information through social media is one of how we can make science available for everyone, the current manuscript requires several improvements before reaching a publishable quality. I left some comments below hoping they can be helpful for the authors.

Introduction. The current structure of the Introduction seems a little too long for an original article. I understand that the information placed here is highly relevant to the issue that the authors are addressing. However, this reviewer considers that most of the information included in the Introduction could be used to improve the discussion (which is a section that requires the most attention).

An example of how the authors can re-structure the Introduction is by mentioning the study problem in the first paragraph. Why is climate change a threat to Egypt? If climate change affects agriculture, give some percentages so the reader can understand that, for example, climate change affects water resources and that limits the amount of water used for agriculture and livestock which has been reduced by 13% (just an example, the percentage is not real). The information placed in lines 104-116 could be helpful to write this first paragraph.

The second paragraph could focus on the current strategies that are being proposed worldwide and, especially, in Egypt. The information that the authors mention about NGOs and the efforts (lines 64-102), and initiatives (lines 117-168) could be summarized here.

The Introduction can end by mentioning that public awareness of climate change could be addressed by using social media or other resources to increase public concern about climate change. Since the authors used Facebook for the present study, maybe giving a brief explanation on why using social platforms could be a new trend to raise awareness (e.g., studies have shown that 35% of people obtain their knowledge about general topics through videos on Facebook and that is why the authors suggest it as a strategy to address this issue –numbers are purely fictional–). Here, Figure 1 could be added. At the end of the introduction include the aim of the study and a hypothesis of the study.

As I mentioned previously, I understand and commend the authors for adding a lot of valuable information in the Introduction, but most of these studies can be mentioned, compared, and discussed in the discussion section (e.g., lines 236-248, among others).

 

Material and Methods. There is no description of how the results were analyzed and what statistical method was used to analyze them. In lines 378-379 the authors mention that “there were no significant differences”, but nowhere in the Methods is explained the analysis or significance level. 

 

Discussion. This section needs to be improved. There is a lack of discussion of the results. As mentioned in my previous comments, information included in the Introduction could be useful to discuss the present results. If the authors found that a rational appeal had the highest interactions, please, discuss why a rational approach and not a fear one might be the best strategy to raise awareness about climate change. If there are other studies evaluating that people tend to have better responses to ads that have a rational appeal, discuss them. The response of people might be related to the emotional valence that people have after watching an ad. The authors could revise previous studies mentioning the impact that certain ads have on people's reactions and why this could be a good strategy to increase the concern of people about climate change.

It is important to include limitations of the study and some recommendations or ideas for future research that the authors found according to the results.

 

Conclusion. A lot of information included in this section seems to fit better in the discussion (e.g., lines 407-411). Please, consider re-structuring this section by highlighting the most relevant findings of the study.  

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 2

 

Thank you sincerely for your insightful comments on our article. We have addressed each of your points as carefully as possible, and your suggestions have contributed to improving our article. Thank you once again for your constructive critique.

 

Climate change is a current issue worldwide. The lack of awareness in some sectors might be the reason why, although organizations suggest strategies, most people are not even aware of these institutions and the importance of these actions. The creation of social media and the popularity of these tools to share information might be a valuable method to increase the awareness of the public sector about climate change. The present study shows an interesting approach to this issue. While I commend the authors for their efforts and consider that providing scientific-based information through social media is one of how we can make science available for everyone, the current manuscript requires several improvements before reaching a publishable quality. I left some comments below hoping they can be helpful for the authors.

Introduction. The current structure of the Introduction seems a little too long for an original article. I understand that the information placed here is highly relevant to the issue that the authors are addressing. However, this reviewer considers that most of the information included in the Introduction could be used to improve the discussion (which is a section that requires the most attention).

An example of how the authors can re-structure the Introduction is by mentioning the study problem in the first paragraph. Why is climate change a threat to Egypt? If climate change affects agriculture, give some percentages so the reader can understand that, for example, climate change affects water resources and that limits the amount of water used for agriculture and livestock which has been reduced by 13% (just an example, the percentage is not real). The information placed in lines 104-116 could be helpful to write this first paragraph.

The second paragraph could focus on the current strategies that are being proposed worldwide and, especially, in Egypt. The information that the authors mention about NGOs and the efforts (lines 64-102), and initiatives (lines 117-168) could be summarized here.

The Introduction can end by mentioning that public awareness of climate change could be addressed by using social media or other resources to increase public concern about climate change. Since the authors used Facebook for the present study, maybe giving a brief explanation on why using social platforms could be a new trend to raise awareness (e.g., studies have shown that 35% of people obtain their knowledge about general topics through videos on Facebook and that is why the authors suggest it as a strategy to address this issue –numbers are purely fictional–). Here, Figure 1 could be added. At the end of the introduction include the aim of the study and a hypothesis of the study.

 

-------------------

Thank you for your insightful comments on the introduction section of our manuscript. We have revised the introduction to address your suggestions:

We have restructured the introduction to provide a more concise and focused overview of the issue of climate change in Egypt. The revised introduction now begins by highlighting the significant threat posed by climate change to developing nations. We have provided references to the impact of climate change on Egypt, with a focus on the vulnerability of the Nile Delta region, along with recent research on the north Nile Delta region conducted by Abuzaid and Abdelatif (2022). Then, we highlighted the communication gap in developing countries and the role of NGOs, and introduced digital solutions, particularly social media, as a promising tool for NGOs. Finally, we focus on using social media messaging to promote pro-environmental behavior in a cost-effective way. We have concluded this introduction by providing a brief overview of the study's methodology, which investigates the optimal emotional framing within social media messaging for fostering engagement and pro-environmental behavior among the Egyptian public. We have also highlighted the use of Facebook A/B testing as the primary metric for engagement in the study.

 

------------------------

As I mentioned previously, I understand and commend the authors for adding a lot of valuable information in the Introduction, but most of these studies can be mentioned, compared, and discussed in the discussion section (e.g., lines 236-248, among others).

Thanks, we expanded the discussion and shortened the introduction and literature review, which improved the clarity and the logical flow of the article:

We first explored various aspects of climate change awareness and initiatives, focusing on Egypt's context. We introduced local initiatives such as tree-planting projects and the involvement of NGOs like Greenish in raising awareness, and highlighted Egypt's proactive efforts on a national and global scale, including its bid to host COP27 and the implementation of the National Adaptation Strategy. Despite these efforts, we identified contradictions and challenges, particularly the recent destruction of green spaces, indicative of conflicting priorities. Hence, we underscored the importance of effective communication strategies to promote awareness about climate change and foster public engagement and activism for policy change. Utilizing Google Trends data, we compared public awareness between Egypt and the USA, revealing a potential gap in climate change awareness

 

Material and Methods. There is no description of how the results were analyzed and what statistical method was used to analyze them. In lines 378-379 the authors mention that “there were no significant differences”, but nowhere in the Methods is explained the analysis or significance level. 

 

Thanks, regarding the analysis Facebook ad reporting provides exact counts for metrics like link clicks, reactions, shares, and saves.  Standard errors are typically used when data points are estimates based on samples, and Facebook ad reports deliver confirmed results. However, in order to clarify our findings, we have added Table 1 and Table 2 to provide supporting data for our findings:

 

 

All social media ads achieved similar click-through rates, around 0.3% (Table 2). However, user engagement varied by emotional appeal:

 

• Hope Appeal: Reaching the most users (616,000) with a slight female and younger demographic (18-24 years old), it generated the fewest clicks (1,773, CTR: 0.28%) and minimal reactions, shares, and saves. This suggests the message resonated with a broader audience (reaching 616,000 users) but didn't compel them to actively engage.

 

• Fear Appeal: Reaching a slightly smaller, more male-dominated audience (25-44 years old), the fear appeal generated slightly more clicks (1,799, CTR: 0.29%) and reactions/shares compared to hope. While it garnered some attention, it wasn't significantly more effective than hope in driving clicks (1,799 vs. 1,773 clicks).

 

• Rational Appeal: Despite reaching slightly fewer users (595,000), with a more balanced gender distribution, the rational appeal achieved the most clicks (2,080, CTR: 0.34%) and post interactions (58 reactions, 4 shares). This suggests users preferred factual information and were more likely to engage with this type of message, generating the most clicks (2,080) and post interactions (58 reactions, 4 shares).

 

Overall, click-through rates were similar, but the rational appeal generated the most clicks and engagement, indicating a user preference for straightforward information. However, engagement across all ads remained low (minimal shares, comments, and saves), suggesting users might passively consume the information without actively sharing it. (Table 2)

 -----------

Discussion. This section needs to be improved. There is a lack of discussion of the results. As mentioned in my previous comments, information included in the Introduction could be useful to discuss the present results. If the authors found that a rational appeal had the highest interactions, please, discuss why a rational approach and not a fear one might be the best strategy to raise awareness about climate change. If there are other studies evaluating that people tend to have better responses to ads that have a rational appeal, discuss them. The response of people might be related to the emotional valence that people have after watching an ad. The authors could revise previous studies mentioning the impact that certain ads have on people's reactions and why this could be a good strategy to increase the concern of people about climate change.

It is important to include limitations of the study and some recommendations or ideas for future research that the authors found according to the results.

Thank you for your useful comments. This revised discussion section offers a more in-depth analysis of the findings by incorporating additional references and explanations. It explores the potential reasons behind user engagement patterns, with an extended discussion on the rational appeal (although no clear pattern is evident in the literature) and highlights the cost-effectiveness of climate change messaging on Facebook.

 

Line 1072:

 

Discussion: Climate Change Communication on Social Media: Hope, Fear, or Facts?

This study investigated the impact of emotional appeals (hope, fear, and rational) on user engagement with social media climate change advertisements. While click-through rates (CTR) remained similar across all appeals (around 0.3%), the results revealed valuable insights into user behavior and content preferences.

 

Hope Appeal: Reaching the most users (616,000), the hope appeal offered the widest reach, potentially due to its positive and optimistic tone. However, this wider audience (616,000) did not translate into higher engagement. It generated the fewest clicks (1,773), reactions, shares, and saves.

 

Fear Appeal: Compared to hope, the fear appeal had a slightly smaller audience with a more male-dominated demographic (390,000 users, 25-44 years old). However, it generated slightly more clicks (1,799) and reactions/shares (28 vs 44 for hope). While fear can grab attention, its effectiveness seems limited. The negligible increase in clicks compared to hope suggests fear might not be a significantly stronger driver of user action. Additionally, fear appeal content wasn't shared substantially more (4 shares vs 0 for hope). These findings align with ongoing discussions in climate change communication research regarding the potential for fear to lead to passive responses like avoidance, denial, or helplessness due to the seemingly insurmountable nature of the threat, suggesting messages emphasizing hope might be more effective [65; 66].

 

Rational Appeal: Although reaching slightly fewer users (596,000) compared to hope, the rational appeal emerged as the most successful in driving engagement. Users exposed to the rational appeal displayed a clear preference for factual information, evidenced by the highest click-through rate (0.34%) and the most post interactions (58 reactions, 4 shares). This finding supports the work of some researchers who suggest that clear and concise factual information is highly effective in engaging users with complex issues like climate change [67; 68]. Users exposed to the rational appeal not only clicked more frequently (2,080 clicks) but also interacted more actively with the content through reactions and shares. However, these findings seem to contradict research suggesting human information processing, decision-making, and behavior are significantly influenced by emotions. Recent research emphasises the crucial role of affective processes in facilitating cognitive function, highlighting the intricate link between emotions and cognitive/motivational processes [66]. Despite their impact, emotions are still identified as key drivers of responses to climate change.

 

5.1 A Call for Deeper Engagement:

While click-through rates were similar across appeals, the overall level of engagement remained relatively low. The minimal shares, comments, and saves suggest a tendency towards passive information consumption. Users might be absorbing the information but not actively sharing it with their networks. This highlights a crucial gap in climate change communication – the need to move beyond clicks towards fostering active user participation. Future campaigns might benefit from stronger calls to action that encourage users to share information, participate in discussions, or take concrete steps towards sustainability [66].

 

5.2 Cost Considerations:

The cost per click (CPC) remained consistent across all appeals (average CPC = $0.07), which is considerably lower than the global average CPC across industries ($1.72) ([reference source]). Furthermore, the CPC for the fear appeal was lower than the average for "Environmental Protection" campaigns on Facebook ($0.58) [69]. This lower CPC suggests that climate change messaging, regardless of appeal type, may benefit from relatively favourable advertising costs on Facebook. This information can be valuable for practitioners and organizations developing communication strategies for climate change awareness campaigns. They can estimate campaign budgets and expected outcomes based on the study findings while also having a benchmark for campaign performance compared to global averages.

 

However, cost is just one factor in social media campaign effectiveness. Micro-targeting, a critical strength of platforms like Facebook, offers exciting possibilities. While research specifically on tailoring climate change communication is limited, parallel studies in health and environmental risk communication suggest promise. Meta-analyses show that tailoring health messages to individual beliefs about self-efficacy can significantly impact attitudes and behaviors [70]. With the rise of micro-targeting technology on social media platforms like Facebook, climate change communication can leverage this potential for personalisation, potentially leading to greater effectiveness.

 

Conclusion. A lot of information included in this section seems to fit better in the discussion (e.g., lines 407-411). Please, consider re-structuring this section by highlighting the most relevant findings of the study.  

 

The conclusion has been rewritten to provide clarity and more accurately address our research objectives. A section on the study's limitations has been added.

 

Line 1140: This study investigated the effectiveness of emotional appeals (hope, fear, and rational) in social media climate change messaging on Facebook. While click-through rates (CTR) were similar across all appeals, the results highlight some key insights: The study found factual messages sparked the most engagement on social media for climate change action (clicks, reactions, shares) [71]. Fear appeals saw slightly more clicks but minimal sharing [71]. Hopeful messages reached the most users but had the lowest engagement [71], suggesting passive information consumption and a need for stronger calls to action [71]. The campaign achieved a remarkable reach of nearly 2 million users (2.3% of Egypt's internet users) with a modest budget of $377, demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of social media for climate change awareness [72]. This highlights the value of social media for reaching a broad audience but emphasises the need for content that goes beyond clicks, prompting active participation through stronger calls to action [71]

 

In conclusion, Facebook presents a powerful platform for targeted and insightful climate change communication.  Its strength lies in the ability to reach large, specific audiences.  Precise targeting based on location, demographics, and interests ensures messages resonate with the most receptive populations.  Facebook Ads function as a feedback loop by providing a wealth of performance insights (CTR, page likes) on how users engage with the content.  By analysing this data, campaign managers can refine their messaging and optimise content for better engagement, ultimately fostering a deeper understanding of climate change issues.  Digital tools like Facebook can be leveraged to raise awareness, encourage behaviour change, and inspire a more environmentally conscious future, ultimately influencing government initiatives in this critical area.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript “Harnessing Social Media for Climate Action in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Egypt” attempts to encourage pro-environmental behaviour in public. The experimental design, methodology, and analysis are well-executed; however, some key questions must be addressed before accepting the paper for publication.

1. Regarding journal publication, Is “Facebook AB testing” a proper method for encouraging the public to climate action? The authors need to rationalize their approach by discussing relevant literature, e.g., Running field experiments using the Facebook split test, Journal of Business Research; 2020, 118,189-198.

2. Can the following conclusion, “The research investigates how digital tools can be used to promote a circular economy and sustainable practices, ultimately supporting government goals, and creating a more environmentally conscious future for Egypt”, be made just relying on three ad sets run only for 13 days? I encourage authors to include more data to make a broader conclusion.

3. Authors are encouraged to make the scope of the paper broader by citing the following references (but not limited): Transforming wood as next‐generation structural and functional materials for a sustainable future, EcoMat; 4, 2022, e12154 and A review of the global climate change impacts, adaptation, and sustainable mitigation measures. Environmental Science and Pollution Research; 29, 2022, 42539-42559.

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 3

Thank you sincerely for your insightful comments on our article. We have addressed each of your points as carefully as possible, and your suggestions have contributed to improving our article. Thank you once again for your constructive critique.

The manuscript “Harnessing Social Media for Climate Action in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Egypt” attempts to encourage pro-environmental behaviour in public. The experimental design, methodology, and analysis are well-executed; however, some key questions must be addressed before accepting the paper for publication.

1. Regarding journal publication, Is “Facebook AB testing” a proper method for encouraging the public to climate action? The authors need to rationalize their approach by discussing relevant literature, e.g., Running field experiments using the Facebook split test, Journal of Business Research; 2020, 118,189-198.

Thank you for your valuable comment. We appreciate your suggestion for a further explanation of our approach. We have included the article mentioned above and expanded the section on Materials and Methodology to provide supporting arguments:

Line 521: While business researchers often resort to controlled laboratory experiments for their high internal validity, these settings can suffer from artificiality, data contamination, and a disconnect between the study and real-world management concerns [60] [61]. Field ex-periments address these limitations but traditionally demand significant time and re-sources. In this context, a field experiment involves testing an intervention (the ad ap-peals) in a real-world setting, such as the Facebook platform. This approach ensures results are more generalisable to real-world social media use, as opposed to a controlled lab environment. Although controlled laboratory experiments boast high internal va-lidity (confidence in the cause-and-effect relationship) [62], their artificiality and potential for data contamination often limit their generalizability to real-world scenarios [60]. Field experiments mitigate this by testing interventions within an authentic environment, mimicking actual user behavior. In this study, the Facebook platform serves as our re-al-world setting, providing a more ecologically valid assessment of user responses to climate change messaging [61]. Facebook AB testing bridges this gap by furnishing an alternative online field setting that is both ecologically valid and allows for testing ma-nipulated variables within user-facing stimuli (like ads) [60]. This method enables ad-vertisers to assess different ad creatives, audiences, or placements to determine which approach yields better engagement or conversion rates. User engagement, measured by the number of clicks, reactions, comments, and shares, serves as the primary metric. Facebook AB testing was selected for its suitability in this study due to several reasons: it eliminates algorithm optimization bias, provides a natural online field setting where participants are unaware of the variables being tested, minimizes bias since the target population is randomly assigned, eliminates hidden incentives or risks of cheating, provides a highly representative and externally valid sample that can be generalised to the population, and ensures even splits and comparable statistics among different ver-sions of the measured variable [62]; [60]; [61].

 

2. Can the following conclusion, “The research investigates how digital tools can be used to promote a circular economy and sustainable practices, ultimately supporting government goals, and creating a more environmentally conscious future for Egypt”, be made just relying on three ad sets run only for 13 days? I encourage authors to include more data to make a broader conclusion.

Many thanks. Yes, indeed, this conclusion did not accurately reflect the research objective. We have now rewritten it to provide clarity and more accurately address our research objectives. A section on the study's limitations has also been added.

 

Line 1140: This study investigated the effectiveness of emotional appeals (hope, fear, and rational) in social media climate change messaging on Facebook. While click-through rates (CTR) were similar across all appeals, the results highlight some key insights: The study found factual messages sparked the most engagement on social media for climate change action (clicks, reactions, shares) [71]. Fear appeals saw slightly more clicks but minimal sharing [71]. Hopeful messages reached the most users but had the lowest engagement [71], suggesting passive information consumption and a need for stronger calls to action [71]. The campaign achieved a remarkable reach of nearly 2 million users (2.3% of Egypt's internet users) with a modest budget of $377, demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of social media for climate change awareness [72]. This highlights the value of social media for reaching a broad audience but emphasises the need for content that goes beyond clicks, prompting active participation through stronger calls to action [71]

 

In conclusion, Facebook presents a powerful platform for targeted and insightful climate change communication.  Its strength lies in the ability to reach large, specific audiences.  Precise targeting based on location, demographics, and interests ensures messages resonate with the most receptive populations.  Facebook Ads function as a feedback loop by providing a wealth of performance insights (CTR, page likes) on how users engage with the content.  By analysing this data, campaign managers can refine their messaging and optimise content for better engagement, ultimately fostering a deeper understanding of climate change issues.  Digital tools like Facebook can be leveraged to raise awareness, encourage behaviour change, and inspire a more environmentally conscious future, ultimately influencing government initiatives in this critical area.

 

3. Authors are encouraged to make the scope of the paper broader by citing the following references (but not limited): Transforming wood as next‐generation structural and functional materials for a sustainable future, EcoMat; 4, 2022, e12154 and A review of the global climate change impacts, adaptation, and sustainable mitigation measures. Environmental Science and Pollution Research;29, 2022, 42539-42559.

Thanks, we have taken this into account. We have revised the introduction to address your suggestions:

We have restructured the introduction to provide a more concise and focused overview of the issue of climate change in Egypt. The revised introduction now begins by highlighting the significant threat posed by climate change to developing nations. We have provided references to the impact of climate change on Egypt, with a focus on the vulnerability of the Nile Delta region, along with recent research on the north Nile Delta region conducted by Abuzaid and Abdelatif (2022). Then, we highlighted the communication gap in developing countries and the role of NGOs, and introduced digital solutions, particularly social media, as a promising tool for NGOs. Finally, we focus on using social media messaging to promote pro-environmental behavior in a cost-effective way. We have concluded this introduction by providing a brief overview of the study's methodology, which investigates the optimal emotional framing within social media messaging for fostering engagement and pro-environmental behavior among the Egyptian public. We have also highlighted the use of Facebook A/B testing as the primary metric for engagement in the study.

 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This study explores how digital communication strategies can be tailored to promote a circular economy and sustainable practices in developing countries like Egypt.t. Empowering citizens and fostering a sense of activism  can raise awareness about environmental issues and encourage pro-environmental behaviour.The research investigates how digital tools can be used to promote a circular economy and sustainable practices, ultimately supporting government goals, and creating a more environmentally conscious future for Egypt.The specific modification opinions and suggestions are as follows：

 

1. The summary of the research methodology in the abstract section is not comprehensive enough (you can briefly describe how Facebook was used in this study and what research was done with it), and you should also briefly summarize the results section, so please add to it.

2. In the introduction, "COP" should be given its full name on first reference.

3. This study examines how digital tools can be used to raise awareness and promote pro-environmental behavior, A Case Study of Egypt, Why focus on NGOs? What is the connection between NGOs and this study or Egypt?

4. In the 1.5,“The results showed that the broader the coverage of the issue in the media, the more concerned the citizens were about climate change”So what are the methodological innovations of the research in this paper? Please highlight.

5. Where are Table 2 and Figure 6 mentioned in Part 3?

6. Part 3.2 Why does it say that rational appeal has the highest participation? Isn't it fear (1145)>rational appeal(1,057)?

7. The comparison of hits in the conclusion section is inconsistent with the results section, please check and correct.

8. The article is not very logical, how do the results of the study show that digital communication strategies have increased awareness of environmental issues?

9. When submitting a manuscript, be sure to check that tables and figures are centered and aligned according to the journal's requirements.

 

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Minor editing of English language required

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 4

 

Thank you sincerely for your insightful comments on our article. We have addressed each of your points as carefully as possible, and your suggestions have contributed to improving our article. Thank you once again for your constructive critiques.

This study explores how digital communication strategies can be tailored to promote a circular economy and sustainable practices in developing countries like Egypt.t. Empowering citizens and fostering a sense of activism  can raise awareness about environmental issues and encourage pro-environmental behaviour.The research investigates how digital tools can be used to promote a circular economy and sustainable practices, ultimately supporting government goals, and creating a more environmentally conscious future for Egypt.The specific modification opinions and suggestions are as follows：

 

1. The summary of the research methodology in the abstract section is not comprehensive enough (you can briefly describe how Facebook was used in this study and what research was done with it), and you should also briefly summarize the results section, so please add to it.

Thank you, we have rewritten the abstract to address your comments:

Like many developing nations, Egypt faces a climate crisis due to its agricultural dependence and the Nile Delta's vulnerability. Despite government plans for sustainable development, recent infrastructure projects have resulted in large-scale green space removal. Effective communication about environmental issues can spark pro-environmental behavior and citizen activism. This study explores social media's potential to bridge this gap in Egypt. Utilising Facebook AB testing with a limited budget, we reached a significant 2.3% of Egypt's online population (nearly 2 million users). This study explored message framing, with findings showing that rational posts resonated best while fear appeals had minimal impact. Social media's cost-effectiveness and message-framing consideration provide a strategic approach for NGOs to reach a large audience and encourage climate action in Egypt.

 

2. In the introduction, "COP" should be given its full name on first reference.

Thanks, this has been fixed.

3. This study examines how digital tools can be used to raise awareness and promote pro-environmental behavior, A Case Study of Egypt, Why focus on NGOs? What is the connection between NGOs and this study or Egypt?

Thank you, this is a very valid point that needed to be further explained:

Line 104: In developing countries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) frequently spearhead efforts to raise awareness about climate change, particularly in the absence of substantial government initiatives [6, 8]. Recent empirical research conducted worldwide underscores the fundamental role of environmental non-governmental organizations (eNGOs) in climate communication. These organizations play a crucial role in raising awareness and conducting educational campaigns to address climate change (Brügge-mann and Rödder, 2020a) [18]. Digital solutions present a promising opportunity to enhance their outreach and influence by leveraging the high social media usage among young people in these regions [6, 8]. 

 

4. In the 1.5,“The results showed that the broader the coverage of the issue in the media, the more concerned the citizens were about climate change”So what are the methodological innovations of the research in this paper? Please highlight.

The study leverages Facebook AB testing as the primary platform for experimentation.  This represents a departure from the traditional approach of analysing social media post and mostly tweets in Western countries.  Focusing on Facebook offers several advantages.  Firstly, Facebook boasts a wider user base in developing nations compared to X.  Secondly, Facebook AB testing allows for the controlled evaluation of different message frames, providing a more robust understanding of their effectiveness in promoting climate change.

Tandoc Jr, E. C., & Eng, N. (2017). Climate change communication on Facebook, Twitter, Sina Weibo, and other social media platforms. In Oxford research encyclopedia of climate science.

 

4. Where are Table 2 and Figure 6 mentioned in Part 3?

Thanks, we have added Table 1 and Table 2 to provide supporting data for our findings and removed Figure 6 that was mentioned mistakenly.

5. Part 3.2 Why does it say that rational appeal has the highest participation? Isn't it fear (1145)>rational appeal(1,057)?

Thanks, we have corrected and clarified this in the text:

Ad Variation	Total Clicks	Unique Clicks	Link Clicks	CPC	Unique CPC	Link CPC	Unique CTR	Post Reactions	Post Shares	Post Saves
Hope Appeal	1,773	1,738	1,044	$0.07	$0.07	$0.12	0.28%	44	0	0
Fear Appeal	1,799	1,755	1,111	$0.07	$0.07	$0.11	0.29%	28	4	0
Rational Appeal	2,080	2,026	993	$0.06	$0.06	$0.13	0.34%	58	4	1

Table 2: Summary of Facebook Engagement Results for the Climate Change Awareness Campaign

The ads had varying levels of engagement, with the rational appeal receiving the highest number of post reactions (58), followed by the fear appeal (28) and the hope appeal (44). Additionally, the rational appeal had the most post shares (4) and one post save, indicating higher user engagement and potential for organic reach. Overall, click-through rates were similar, but the rational appeal generated the most clicks and engagement, indicating a user preference for straightforward information. However, engagement across all ads remained low (minimal shares, comments, and saves), suggesting users might passively consume the information without actively sharing it. (Table 2)

 

6. The comparison of hits in the conclusion section is inconsistent with the results section, please check and correct.

The conclusion has been rewritten to provide clarity and more accurately address our research objectives. A section on the study's limitations has been added.

 

Line 1140: This study investigated the effectiveness of emotional appeals (hope, fear, and rational) in social media climate change messaging on Facebook. While click-through rates (CTR) were similar across all appeals, the results highlight some key insights: The study found factual messages sparked the most engagement on social media for climate change action (clicks, reactions, shares) [71]. Fear appeals saw slightly more clicks but minimal sharing [71]. Hopeful messages reached the most users but had the lowest engagement [71], suggesting passive information consumption and a need for stronger calls to action [71]. The campaign achieved a remarkable reach of nearly 2 million users (2.3% of Egypt's internet users) with a modest budget of $377, demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of social media for climate change awareness [72]. This highlights the value of social media for reaching a broad audience but emphasises the need for content that goes beyond clicks, prompting active participation through stronger calls to action [71]

 

In conclusion, Facebook presents a powerful platform for targeted and insightful climate change communication.  Its strength lies in the ability to reach large, specific audiences.  Precise targeting based on location, demographics, and interests ensures messages resonate with the most receptive populations.  Facebook Ads function as a feedback loop by providing a wealth of performance insights (CTR, page likes) on how users engage with the content.  By analysing this data, campaign managers can refine their messaging and optimise content for better engagement, ultimately fostering a deeper understanding of climate change issues.  Digital tools like Facebook can be leveraged to raise awareness, encourage behaviour change, and inspire a more environmentally conscious future, ultimately influencing government initiatives in this critical area.

7. The article is not very logical, how do the results of the study show that digital communication strategies have increased awareness of environmental issues?

The results of the study indicate that digital communication strategies, particularly those employed on Facebook, have effectively increased awareness of environmental issues. This is evident through several key findings. Firstly, the study found that factual messages sparked the most engagement on social media platforms, including clicks, reactions, and shares. Secondly, despite similar click-through rates across different emotional appeals (hope, fear, and rational), the campaign achieved a remarkable reach of nearly 2 million users with a modest budget. Reach, measured by the number of unique users who have seen the campaign content, indicates the extent of exposure and dissemination of information, thereby contributing to increased awareness. Likes, along with other engagement metrics such as comments, shares, and reactions, also serve as indicators of awareness as they signify active interaction and interest from users. The study demonstrates that digital communication strategies on Facebook effectively increase awareness of environmental issues by reaching a large, specific audience, advancing engagement, and providing valuable insights for campaign refinement.

 

9. When submitting a manuscript, be sure to check that tables and figures are centered and aligned according to the journal's requirements.

Thanks, we have addressed these issues.

 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I'm happy with the revised version. 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Needs minor english editing 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Minor English revisions have been made, and based on the recommendation of Reviewer 2, the following changes were implemented:

1. Shortened the Introduction section as recommended and moved remaining parts to the Discussion for stronger analysis.
2. Added an appendix titled "Appendix One: Advertising Report: Understanding the Metrics" to summarize key advertising performance metrics.
3. Expanded the discussion section by: a. Thoroughly discussing the Google Trends results, especially the differences between Egypt and the US, including the potential impact of disinformation on the latter. b. Including coverage of the finding that younger audiences are more receptive to climate change messaging. c. Strengthening the comparison of hope and fear appeals with the inclusion of the reference by Farías (2020).

Thank you for your valuable feedback.

 

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I appreciate that the authors considered my observations and significantly changed the manuscript. I commend the authors for improving the presentation of the article. I still have some comments.

 

In-text citation. Throughout the manuscript, revise the citation style. In some instances, it still appears as “Abdelatif (2022) [14]” instead of just “Abdelatif [14]. Also, in line 34, 35, 41, and so on, the references appear as “[9] [10]” when it should be [9-10]. Some sentences have “[reference source]” instead of an actual reference (line 411).

 

Introduction. I appreciate the changes that the authors implemented in the Introduction section.

 

Sections 2, 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3. The valuable information contained in this section could be helpful to improve the discussion. In my previous revision I recommended shortening the Introduction section. However, my mistake was not to mention that these sections also need to be summarized or integrated in the discussion. Generally speaking, the Introduction section for a research paper does not need to be extensive since most of the key information can be used to discuss the present results. I highly recommend using the most relevant information inside sections 2, 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 into the Introduction, and use the rest of the text in the discussion.

 

Results. In the footnotes of the Tables, include the meaning of all abbreviations.

 

Discussion section. I consider that this section greatly improved for the first version. More discussion is still needed to justify the findings regarding “hope appeal”. In this sense, the authors need to discuss why this approach did not get a lot of interactions. Currently, there are several studies that compare a fear vs. hope appeal (e.g., Farías, 2020 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17239148 who concluded that in health-related issues, a fear appeal has a greater impact on people). Other examples could be used to improve the current discussion.  

 

Section 7. This section could be moved after the discussion and before the conclusion.

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 2

In-text citation. Throughout the manuscript, revise the citation style. In some instances, it still appears as “Abdelatif (2022) [14]” instead of just “Abdelatif [14]. Also, in line 34, 35, 41, and so on, the references appear as “[9] [10]” when it should be [9-10]. Some sentences have “[reference source]” instead of an actual reference (line 411).

 Thank you for bringing these issues to our attention. We have reviewed and corrected the citation style throughout the manuscript. In-text citations now appear as "Abdelatif [14]" and references are presented as "[9-10]" where appropriate. We have also checked that all references are properly cited with their corresponding source.

Introduction. I appreciate the changes that the authors implemented in the Introduction section.

 Sections 2, 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3. The valuable information contained in this section could be helpful to improve the discussion. In my previous revision I recommended shortening the Introduction section. However, my mistake was not to mention that these sections also need to be summarized or integrated in the discussion. Generally speaking, the Introduction section for a research paper does not need to be extensive since most of the key information can be used to discuss the present results. I highly recommend using the most relevant information inside sections 2, 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 into the Introduction, and use the rest of the text in the discussion.

Thank you for your feedback and suggestions. We have indeed shortened the Introduction section as per your previous recommendation. The remaining parts from these sections have been moved to the Discussion to strengthen the analysis and interpretation of the results.

1. Introduction

Climate change poses a significant threat, particularly to developing nations. While international conferences like COP26 (Conference of the Parties) [1] in 2021 addressed climate mitigation strategies (e.g., emissions targets, renewable energy) [2], the challenge lies in effective communication and instigating behavioral change. This research explores the potential of digital solutions for promoting a circular economy and sustainability in developing countries, using Egypt as a case study. The African continent, heavily reliant on agriculture, faces a disproportionate impact from climate change. Egypt's Nile Delta is a prime example, identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as highly vulnerable [3]. Selwin Hart, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General, highlighted the disproportionate impact of global warming on Africa, particularly in terms of its adverse effects on agriculture [4]. Schilling et al. [5- 6] projected that Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria are expected to experience severe temperature increases, leading to drought and water shortages. In the same vein, Driouech et al. [7- 8] anticipated extreme climate changes in the MENA region. Hamelin and Nwankwo [9- 10] showed that reduced precipitation and increased temperature in Morocco are the main driver of the decline of the cedar forest. On a national level, Egypt, like many other countries, is significantly affected by climate change, experiencing increased temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns leading to more extreme weather events, rising sea levels threatening its crucial Nile Delta, and land degradation that reduces its agricultural capacity [11- 12- 13]. This was recently confirmed by Abuzaid and Abdelatif [14], who conducted research using satellite imagery on the north Nile Delta region of Egypt, covering an area of 8607.13 km2. Their findings reveal that 72% of the area can be classified as critically sensitive to desertification, with 70% being highly critical and 2% moderately critical. Egypt’s population growth (109.3 million in 2022) is another critical concern leading to the country facing a severe water shortage, with a deficit of about 20 BCM [15].

Extensive research conducted on climate change in developed nations has established a solid foundation of knowledge and understanding [12- 16- 17], enabling the development of broader and more comprehensive communication strategies that target a wider range of audiences and issues. In contrast, developing countries often face limitations in resources, infrastructure, and competing priorities, resulting in less research and understanding of climate change [12] and, consequently, reduced communication on climate change and its issues. Given these circumstances, there is a clear need for more targeted communication strategies. Specifically, for strategies that tailor messages, methods, and channels to reach specific audiences and address the unique challenges associated with combating climate change [12].

In developing countries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) frequently spearhead efforts to raise awareness about climate change, particularly in the absence of substantial government initiatives [6-8]. Recent empirical research conducted worldwide underscores the fundamental role of environmental non-governmental organizations (eNGOs) in climate communication. These organizations play a crucial role in raising awareness and conducting educational campaigns to address climate change [18]. Digital solutions present a promising opportunity to enhance their outreach and influence by leveraging the high social media usage among young people in these regions [6- 8].  Research shows that social media is a primary source of information for youth in both developed and developing countries, with people in poorer countries just as likely to use it for news as those in wealthier nations [19]. This trend extends to news about climate change, as evidenced by the global movement spearheaded by Greta Thunberg [20].  Beginning in 2018, young people worldwide engaged in protest activities organised through social media, advocating for government action on climate change [20].

Developing countries often face challenges in raising environmental awareness and promoting sustainable practices due to limited resources [21]. Digital tools offer a promising solution, reaching a vast number of people at a generally low cost compared to traditional methods [20]. This empowers NGOs to maximise their impact on a tight budget. This study investigates not only what emotional framing works best within social media messaging for fostering engagement and pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) amongst the Egyptian public concerning climate change but also what a limited budget can achieve in terms of reach. Employing Facebook A/B testing as the primary metric for engagement, the study conducts a comparative analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of messages utilising hope, fear, or a rational appeal in raising awareness and promoting sustainable practices. By analysing how message framing influences user engagement on a cost-effective platform like Facebook, this research can provide valuable insights for NGOs seeking to maximize their outreach and impact with limited resources.

2. Local and Global Initiatives Relating to Climate Change in Egypt

In recent years, Egypt has launched a significant tree-planting initiative in regions like Giza, Alexandria, and the Nile Delta, supported by both governmental and non-governmental institutions, including the Egyptian Ministry of Environment [4]. One such NGO, "Greenish," founded in 2017, has actively promoted environmental awareness, particularly regarding climate change, through its events and workshops [22- 23]. Egypt's commitment to addressing climate change is evident from its bid to host the 27th Climate Change Conference, subsequently confirmed in November 2021 [24- 25].

NGOs have emerged as key players in raising climate change awareness, often more effective than governments due to their agility and ability to leverage resources efficiently. In developing countries, where traditional media coverage of climate change has been limited [26], NGOs have emerged as a crucial force in raising public awareness, leveraging social media as a key tool [27-28]. Their primary objective is to educate the public about the challenges posed by climate change [29]. To achieve this, NGOs have adopted various communication strategies, including collaborating with governments, publishing educational content, and launching social media campaigns [29- 30- 31]. These efforts often involve highlighting the consequences of climate change, advocating for policy changes, and empowering individuals to take action [32]. Studies by Vu et al. [33] and Takahashi et al. [32] explore how NGOs tailor their messaging strategies to different audiences. For instance, NGOs in China focus on daily life impacts, while those in Africa emphasize agricultural and economic consequences [34- 35]. The importance of cultural sensitivity in messaging is underscored by research in Tanzania and the Philippines [36- 37]. NGOs in these regions must navigate cultural beliefs to effectively communicate climate risks through social media. Individual's education level, cultural background, and personal experiences all influence their understanding of climate change messages [38- 39]. This highlights the critical role of media in providing clear and engaging information [40- 41].

NGOs have traditionally favored social media platforms like Twitter for climate change communication due to their cost-effectiveness. This allows for tailoring messaging strategies to resonate with different audiences, considering cultural beliefs and individual backgrounds [27-28, 32-33]. However, research on social media's effectiveness in influencing green behavior remains limited [43-44]. This limitation stems from the fact that much of the existing research on climate change attitudes has primarily focused on Western countries [45-46]. As a result, there's a gap in understanding how individualistic differences within populations of the MENA region influence their response to social media's green messages. This highlights the need for further exploration in this area.

Results. In the footnotes of the Tables, include the meaning of all abbreviations.

This was added as an appendix:

Appendix One: Advertising Report: Understanding the Metrics

This table summarises key metrics used to evaluate advertising performance, along with their purpose:

 

Term	Explanation	Usefulness
Ad Variation	Different versions of the ad tested	Helps identify the most effective ad format through A/B testing
Clicks (Total & Unique)	Total Clicks: This reflects the total number of times users clicked anywhere on the ad, regardless of whether it was the same user clicking multiple times. Unique Clicks: This measures the number of individual users who clicked on the ad at least once, avoiding inflated figures due to repeat clicks.	Total clicks represent how many times people clicked on the advertisement, regardless of whether it was the same person clicking repeatedly. This metric provides a general idea of how visible the ad was and how much overall attention it attracted. Unique clicks tell you how many individual users clicked on the ad at least once. This metric focuses on user engagement because it filters out repeat clicks from the same person and reflects the number of distinct people who interacted with the ad.
Link Clicks	Number of clicks directing users to a specific webpage	Measures effectiveness in driving traffic to a desired website
CPC (Cost-per-Click)	Average cost per ad click (total spend divided by total clicks)	Helps understand the return on investment (ROI) for advertising campaigns
Unique CPC	Average cost per click from unique users (total spend divided by unique clicks)	Assesses cost efficiency of reaching individual users
Link CPC	Average cost per click on a specific link within the ad	Provides insight into the cost of acquiring website traffic through the ad
Unique CTR (Click-Through Rate)	Percentage of users who saw and clicked the ad (unique clicks divided by impressions x 100%)	Indicates how well the ad resonates with the target audience and compels them to click
Engagement (Reactions, Shares & Saves)	User interactions with the ad: emoji reactions (likes etc.), sharing with others, and saving for future reference	Reflects user sentiment towards the ad (reactions), potential reach expansion (shares), and content value (saves)

 

Discussion section. I consider that this section greatly improved for the first version. More discussion is still needed to justify the findings regarding “hope appeal”. In this sense, the authors need to discuss why this approach did not get a lot of interactions. Currently, there are several studies that compare a fear vs. hope appeal (e.g., Farías, 2020 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17239148 who concluded that in health-related issues, a fear appeal has a greater impact on people). Other examples could be used to improve the current discussion.  

 

Section 7. This section could be moved after the discussion and before the conclusion.

Thank you for your feedback on the discussion section. Your feedback was helpful in allowing us to improve it.

1) We identified a need for a more thorough discussion of the Google Trends results, particularly regarding the difference between Egypt and the US.  We've added a new section exploring the potential impact of disinformation on the lower interest in climate change observed in the US data.

2) We also realised the discussion lacked coverage of the finding that younger audiences tend to be more receptive to climate change messaging. We've incorporated this information as well.

3) Thanks: The reference by Farías (2020) strengthens the comparison of hope and fear appeals, so we've included that.

Upon reviewing your suggestion to move Section 7 after the Discussion and before the Conclusion, we found that the flow of our manuscript remained coherent without necessitating this change (since the discussion has been expanded and strengthened).

 

5. Discussion: Climate Change Awareness and Communication on Social Media: Hope, Fear, or Facts?

 

5.1 Public Awareness and Communication Strategies in Egypt:

While a knowledge gap on climate change undoubtedly exists within the Egyptian public [20], it's inaccurate to portray Egyptian as entirely uninformed. Google Trends data reveals a positive trend in searches for "sustainability," indicating a growing interest in environmental issues. However, the situation in the USA presents a stark contrast. Here, despite a similar rise in "sustainability" searches, a clear upward trend for "climate change" is absent. This disparity might be attributed to the prevalence of social media misinformation within the US. A study by Gounaridis & Newell [55] found that nearly 15% of Americans do not believe in climate change, fueled by a coordinated social media network exploiting events and influential figures like Donald Trump to sow doubt about scientific consensus. This underlines the crucial role that social media platforms must assume in combating misinformation by delivering messages that effectively foster resilience to misinformation among the audience.

 

5.2 Egypt's Growing Climate Awareness:

Analysis of online search trends suggests a growing awareness of climate change in Egypt. This is evidenced by a notable increase in searches for "climate change" compared to the past. This trend aligns with positive national efforts to address the issue, such as Egypt's hosting of COP27 and the establishment of the National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) [24-56]. However, challenges persist. Recent large-scale demolitions of green spaces for road expansion highlight a potential disconnect between government actions and public concerns [57-58]. Citizen activism opposing these projects further emphasizes the growing public interest in environmental protection [59]. Learning from successful communication strategies used in the West could be beneficial for Egypt.  Research suggests that effective climate change messaging goes beyond simply providing information; the message itself needs to resonate with the audience [26]. Culturally relevant communication delivered through appropriate channels is crucial. This is especially important in developing countries like Egypt, where building resilience against misinformation requires effective social media campaigns that promote positive attitudes towards climate change.

Therefore, the next step of this study investigated the impact of emotional appeals (hope, fear, and rationality) on user engagement with social media climate change advertisements.

 

 

 

5.3 Younger Audience Drawn to All Ad Variations in Marketing Campaign

All three ad variations (hope, fear, and rational) reached a similar number of total viewers. However, a clear trend emerged regarding age groups. The 18–24-year-olds showed the strongest engagement with all the ads, consistently reaching around 18-19% of viewers in that age group. This suggests the messaging might be more effective for younger audiences compared to those over 35. This aligns with existing research that shows teenagers and young adults are more receptive to environmental advertising on social media [60], while older demographics may be less interested in climate change messages.

 

5.4 Optimising Climate Messaging: Hope, Fear, or Facts for Climate Action?

While click-through rates (CTR) remained similar across all appeals (around 0.3%), the results revealed valuable insights into user behaviour and content preferences.

 

The Hope Appeal, despite reaching the most viewers (616,000 users), did not translate to higher engagement. It generated the fewest clicks, reactions, shares, and saves.  This finding contradicts a recent study from Indonesia [61] which explored the impact of messages that use hope or fear, framed either globally or locally, on promoting pro-environmental behaviour.  Participants evaluated climate change posters with different message framings. The study examined how threat (fear) and hope appeals, presented in global and local contexts, influenced people's attitudes and intentions towards protecting the environment. The results showed that both fear and hope messages can significantly influence people's attitudes and intentions, but the effectiveness depends on how the message is framed. Specifically, the Indonesian study found that fear messages were more effective when the message focused on the global impact of climate change. Conversely, hope messages had a greater impact when they addressed local environmental issues.

Fear Appeal: Compared to hope, the fear appeal had a slightly smaller audience with a more male-dominated demographic (390,000 users, 25-44 years old). However, it generated slightly more clicks (1,799) and reactions/shares (28 vs 44 for hope). While fear can grab attention, its effectiveness seems limited. The negligible increase in clicks compared to hope suggests fear might not be a significantly stronger driver of user action. Additionally, fear appeal content wasn't shared substantially more (4 shares vs 0 for hope). These findings align with ongoing discussions in climate change communication research regarding the potential for fear to lead to passive responses like avoidance, denial, or helplessness due to the seemingly insurmountable nature of the threat, suggesting messages emphasizing hope might be more effective [62- 63]. However, it's important to note that fear appeals have been shown to be successful in some health promotion campaigns, like encouraging healthy eating but not necessarily increasing physical activity [64].

 

Rational Appeal: Although reaching slightly fewer users (596,000) compared to hope, the rational appeal emerged as the most successful in driving engagement. Users exposed to the rational appeal displayed a clear preference for factual information, evidenced by the highest click-through rate (0.34%) and the most post interactions (58 reactions, 4 shares). This finding supports the work of some researchers who suggest that clear and concise factual information is highly effective in engaging users with complex issues like climate change [65- 66]. Users exposed to the rational appeal not only clicked more frequently (2,080 clicks) but also interacted more actively with the content through reactions and shares. However, these findings seem to contradict research suggesting human information processing, decision-making, and behavior are significantly influenced by emotions. Recent research emphasises the crucial role of affective processes in facilitating cognitive function, highlighting the intricate link between emotions and cognitive/motivational processes [63]. Despite their impact, emotions are still identified as key drivers of responses to climate change.

5.6.  A Call for Deeper Engagement:

While click-through rates were similar across appeals, the overall level of engagement remained relatively low. The minimal shares, comments, and saves suggest a tendency towards passive information consumption. "Liking" a post requires less effort compared to actions like sharing, donating, or completing forms.  This suggests a tendency towards passive rather than active support for climate change mitigation efforts.Users might be absorbing the information but not actively sharing it with their networks. This highlights a crucial gap in climate change communication – the need to move beyond clicks towards fostering active user participation. Future campaigns might benefit from stronger calls to action that encourage users to share information, participate in discussions, or take concrete steps towards sustainability [63].

5.7. Cost Considerations:

The cost per click (CPC) remained consistent across all appeals (average CPC = $0.07), which is considerably lower than the global average CPC across industries ($1.72) [67]. Furthermore, the CPC for the fear appeal was lower than the average for "Environmental Protection" campaigns on Facebook ($0.58) [68]. This lower CPC suggests that climate change messaging, regardless of appeal type, may benefit from relatively favourable advertising costs on Facebook. With a spend of only $377, equally distributed among the three ad variations, the campaign reached nearly 2 million users (1,825,893). This is significant considering Egypt's internet penetration rate (71.9%), which is higher than that of neighbouring countries (Algeria: 58%, Libya: 22%) [69]. This information can be valuable for practitioners and organizations developing communication strategies for climate change awareness campaigns. They can estimate campaign budgets and expected outcomes based on the study findings while also having a benchmark for campaign performance compared to global averages.

However, cost is just one factor in social media campaign effectiveness. Micro-targeting, a critical strength of platforms like Facebook, offers exciting possibilities. While research specifically on tailoring climate change communication is limited, parallel studies in health and environmental risk communication suggest promise. Meta-analyses show that tailoring health messages to individual beliefs about self-efficacy can significantly impact attitudes and behaviors [70]. With the rise of micro-targeting technology on social media platforms like Facebook, climate change communication can leverage this potential for personalisation, potentially leading to greater effectiveness.

 

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thank you for taking the time to revise your manuscript. After reviewing the changes and considering the revisions made to the paper, I find the paper suitable for publication. The efforts made to address the previous comments and incorporate the suggested changes have significantly enhanced the quality of the work. Congratulations on the successful revision, and I look forward to seeing your research contribute to the field.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you. Minor English revisions have been made, and based on the recommendation of Reviewer 2, the following changes were implemented:

1. Shortened the Introduction section as recommended and moved remaining parts to the Discussion for stronger analysis.
2. Added an appendix titled "Appendix One: Advertising Report: Understanding the Metrics" to summarise key advertising performance metrics.
3. Expanded the discussion section by: a. Thoroughly discussing the Google Trends results, especially the differences between Egypt and the US, including the potential impact of disinformation on the latter. b. Including coverage of the finding that younger audiences are more receptive to climate change messaging. c. Strengthening the comparison of hope and fear appeals with the inclusion of the reference by Farías (2020).

Thank you for your valuable feedback.