A common assumption about the public disagreement surrounding the scientific consensus of climate change is that people don’t understand the science and therefore we need to disseminate better scientific information. Yet research has consistently indicated that increased awareness of climate change does not commonly lead to concern and action. Therefore, one- way information transmission strategies are limited in their effectiveness. Another engagement strategy, social marketing, is only appropriate “when there is widescale agreement about the desirability of particular behaviors or goals,” such as seeking compliance to meet predetermined energy conservation goals (Zint & Wolske, 2014). This approach, however, assumes that experts ‘know’ that particular behaviors are the ‘right’ ones. This scenario does not fit the case of the wicked problem and characteristics of climate change (e.g., complexity, uncertainty, contestation) and the development of community adaptation responses. The author will argue that the types of profound and essential societal changes needed to achieve adaptation to climate change, will demand participatory deliberative processes. The shape and challenges of such processes will be analysed, drawing on the concept of civic science (Dillon, Stevenson & Wals, in press), literature and examples on critical participatory environmental education.