Chris Russill

Biography

Chris Russill is an Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Communication and an Academic Director at Re.Climate, a centre for climate communication and public engagement, both housed at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

His current work focuses on how climate communication has been transformed by changes to our information environment, and how communicators struggle with disinformation, crisis management, and public engagement as a result. He lectures widely on these topics and is a frequent commentator on these issues in media (Canadian Press; CBC; The Star; Postmedia; AFP Canada; France 24; CTV news; National Observer; Narwhal). He has also made expert submissions to the Competition Bureau on greenwashing and deceptive marketing with Dr. Patrick McCurdy

His current projects include, “Who Killed the Carbon Tax,” an investigation into the communication of carbon pricing in Canada, which will be developed as a true crime podcast.

Chris co-edited Critical Approaches to Climate Change and Civic Action with Anabela Carvalho and Julie Doyle, a collection exploring conceptual invention in public forms of climate action. He has also edited Earth Observing Media, a collection engaging with Google Earth, digital globes, drones, radar, sonar, GPS, and satellite imaging.

He is an Associate Editor at Science and Environmental Communication and serves on the boards of Environmental Communication, Palgrave Studies in Media and Environmental Communication, and Communication Undisciplined. He teaches classes in Climate Change + Communication and contributes to the new Collaborative Specialization in Climate Change (you can do this degree in our communication program!).

Chris completed his Ph.D. in communication at Penn State, and his M.A. and B. A. at York University in Toronto. He is an external member of the Institute for Environment, Conservation and Sustainability at the University of Toronto, a former fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, and a former editor of the Canadian Journal of Communication. 

Recent Publications

Russill, C. 2025. Climate Communication. The Handbook of Communication Ethics, eds. Amit Pinchevski, Patrice M. Buzzanell, Jason Hannan, New York: Routledge.

Russill, C. and Alrasheed, G. 2025. Discourse Analysis and Climate Communication. The Handbook of Climate Crisis Communication, eds. A. Anderson and C. Howarth. Routledge Press

Kopp, R.E., Gilmore, E.A., Shwom, R.L., Adams, H., Adler, C., Oppenheimer, M., Patwardhan, A., Russill, C., Schmidt, D.N. and York, R., 2025. ‘Tipping points’ confuse and can distract from urgent climate action. Nature Climate Change, 15(1), pp.29-36.

Russill, C., 2024. Displacements of Care in Climate Crisis: The Case of Tipping Points. Environmental Communication, 18(1-2), pp.94-101.

Aronczyk, M., McCurdy, P. and Russill, C., 2024. Greenwashing, net-zero, and the oil sands in Canada: The case of Pathways Alliance. Energy Research & Social Science, 112, p.103502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103502

Russill, C., 2023. Alarmism and accountability in climate communication during extreme events. Social Media+ Society, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305123117

Carvalho, A., Russill, C. and Doyle, J. 2021. Critical Approaches to Climate Change and Civic Action. Frontiers: Science and Environmental Communication. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.711897

Public Reports, Government Submissions, and Lectures

Russill, C. and McCurdy, P. 2025. Submission to the Competition Bureau on the Dec 13 draft of proposed guidelines concerning environmental claims, Feb 25. Available here.

Russill, C., McCurdy, P., and Aronczyk, M. 2024. Submission for Greenwashing Consultation, Competition Bureau, Sept. 26. Available here.

Russill, C., Bridgman, A., Hayes, H., Khoo, M., Alrasheed, G., Tollefson, H., Ross, C., and Peterson, L. 2024. Flame Wars: Misinformation and Wildfire in Canada’s Climate Conversation. Available here.

Alrasheed, G., Aronczyk, M., McCurdy, P., and Russill, C. 2024. What Lies Beneath. Pathways Alliance, Greenwashing, Networks and Narratives. (webinar recording available here).

Comeau, L., Russill, C., Velasquez-Rose, S., and Cox, R. 2024. Don’t Let Canada Burn: Communicating Climate Change in Wildfire Season. (webinar recording available here).

Russill, C., McCurdy, P., and Kliever, J. 2024 Oil sands disinformation is worse than you think. Available here.

Alrasheed, G. and Russill, C. 2023. Canada’s Online News Act: What it means for climate communicators. Available here.

Grants

Chris has received funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). McConnell Foundation, Ivey Foundation, Donner Foundation, Jarislowsky Foundation, Trottier Family Foundation, Environmental Funders Canada, Clean Economy Fund, and Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems (MITACS).