Joseph Romm (named "The Web’s most influential climate-change blogger" by Timemagazine) discusses the Climate Communications and Behavior Change guide on his blog ClimateProgress.org.  In his post, "What are your favorite climate and energy soundbites?" Romm comments that the terms "rapid climate shift" and "climate shock" have merit as phrases that can supplement "global warming" and "climate change":

"I’ll probably stick with using many different phrases, including GW and CC.  The report does have some good suggestions for how to phrase basic talking points:

Carbon dioxide and other pollutants collect in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun’s heat and causing the planet to warm up."