The article has nothing to do with the literal specific meaning of one word and everything to do with how people consume and relate to climate change messaging. That's not "words", and it actually requires a good deal more thinking.
Do you think another word, stronger this time, will motivate "people" to do more? (Not the companies, which should be compelled by governments).
Well marketing evidently moves a huge amount of the populance and it requires very few but extremely well-placed phrases and slogans to work so yeah. You just need to move a small fraction of the voting population to shift the political panorama.