research on climate change denials

Articles on Climate change denial

Displaying 1 - 20 of 129 articles.

Can we be inoculated against climate misinformation? Yes – if we prebunk rather than debunk

Christian Turney , University of Technology Sydney and Sander van der Linden , University of Cambridge

Climate change believers are more likely to cooperate with strangers, new research finds

Ananish Chaudhuri , University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau ; Quentin Douglas Atkinson , University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau , and Scott Claessens , University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

Climate change: multi-country media analysis shows scepticism of the basic science is dying out

James Painter , University of Oxford

The new climate denial? Using wealth to insulate yourself from discomfort and change

Hannah Della Bosca , University of Sydney

We’ve lost a giant: Vale Professor Will Steffen, climate science pioneer

John Finnigan , CSIRO ; Pep Canadell , CSIRO , and Steven J Lade , Stockholm University

Exxon scientists accurately forecast climate change back in the 1970s – what if we had listened to them and acted then?

John Grant , Sheffield Hallam University

For 110 years, climate change has been in the news. Are we finally ready to listen?

Linden Ashcroft , The University of Melbourne

Three reasons why climate change models are our best hope for understanding the future

Mark Maslin , UCL

‘Don’t Look Up’: Hollywood’s primer on climate denial illustrates 5 myths that fuel rejection of science

Gale Sinatra , University of Southern California and Barbara K. Hofer , Middlebury

Climate change denial 2.0 was on full display at COP26, but there was also pushback

David Tindall , University of British Columbia ; Mark CJ Stoddart , Memorial University of Newfoundland , and Riley E Dunlap , Oklahoma State University

The ‘97% climate consensus’ is over. Now it’s well above 99% (and the evidence is even stronger than that)

Steve Turton , CQUniversity Australia

Fossil fuel misinformation may sideline one of the most important climate change reports ever released

Christian Downie , Australian National University

A controversial US book is feeding climate denial in Australia. Its central claim is true, yet irrelevant

Ian Lowe , Griffith University

Matt Canavan suggested the cold snap means global warming isn’t real. We bust this and 2 other climate myths

Nerilie Abram , Australian National University ; Martin De Kauwe , UNSW Sydney , and Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick , UNSW Sydney

Most people consider climate change a serious issue, but rank other problems as more important. That affects climate policy

Sam Crawley , Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Three possible futures for global climate scepticism

Eloise Harding , University of Southampton

‘God intended it as a disposable planet’: meet the US pastor preaching climate change denial

Paul Braterman , University of Glasgow

Faith and politics mix to drive evangelical Christians’ climate change denial

Adrian Bardon , Wake Forest University

Climate denial hasn’t gone away – here’s how to spot arguments for delaying climate action

Stuart Capstick , Cardiff University

How much do people around the world care about climate change? We surveyed 80,000 people in 40 countries to find out

Simge Andı , University of Oxford and James Painter , University of Oxford

Related Topics

• Climate change
• Climate change scepticism
• climate sceptic
• Climate science
• Donald Trump
• Global warming
• Misinformation
• Science communication
• Science denial

Top contributors

Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne

Chair of Cognitive Psychology, University of Bristol

Senior Lecturer, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University

Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Education; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland

Associate Professor in Astronomy, Monash University

Research Associate, Reuters Institute, University of Oxford

Professor of Natural Sciences, UCL

Deputy Director, Australian National Centre for Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University

Research Associate, Science Society & Sustainability, University of East Anglia

Associate Professor of Philosophy, Rochester Institute of Technology

Principal Lecturer in Psychology, University of Brighton

Research Fellow, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University

Director Sydney Environment Institute and Professor of Environmental Politics, University of Sydney

Professor of Management & Organizations; Professor of Environment & Sustainability; Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the Ross School of Business and School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan

Visiting Fellow, SPRU, University of Sussex Business School, University of Sussex

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Pathways to changing the minds of climate deniers

By reviewing the psychology behind climate change rejection, a Stanford researcher suggests four approaches that can sway climate deniers and help overcome obstacles to implementing solutions.

Want to sway the opinion of climate deniers? Start by acknowledging and respecting people’s beliefs. That’s one of four suggestions a Stanford researcher unearthed in a review of the psychology behind why some people reject climate change despite knowledge or access to the facts.

Denying the effects of climate change serves as a barrier to taking the actions needed to mitigate the worst effects, including rising seas, more intense hurricanes and increased droughts and heatwaves. However, the researchers found that those who deny human causes for climate change can be swayed through conversations that appeal to their different identities, reframe solutions – or even embrace their climate views.

“I think in the climate change sphere there’s this thinking of, ‘there’s the deniers over there, let’s just not even engage with them – it’s not worth it,’” said behavioral scientist Gabrielle Wong-Parodi , lead author of the paper published in Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability Jan. 8. “A lot of the tactics and strategies start from the point that something is wrong with the climate deniers, rather than trying to acknowledge that they have a belief and opinion and it matters. But I think there is an opportunity to keep trying to understand one another, especially now.”

The researchers focused on what is referred to as “motivated denial” – knowing or having access to the facts, but nevertheless denying them. For some people, accepting that humans cause climate change questions self-worth, threatens financial institutions and is accompanied by an overwhelming sense of responsibility.

I think we often forget that people can have many identities – there might be a political identity, but there is also an identity as a mother, or an identity as a friend or an identity as a student. ” Gabrielle Wong-Parodi Assistant Professor of Earth System Science

Although efforts to sway climate deniers may seem futile, the researchers found four approaches in peer-reviewed studies from the past two years that could be most effective:

• Reframing solutions to climate change as ways to uphold the social system and work toward its stability and longevity
• Reducing the ideological divide by incorporating the purity of the Earth, rather than how we harm or care for it
• Having conversations about the scientific consensus around climate change with trusted individuals
• Encouraging people to explicitly discuss their values and stance on climate change prior to engaging with climate information

Wong-Parodi said she found the fourth approach to be the most intriguing because less research has been done in that area than the other three – and it seems to have a lot of potential for behavior change. Self-affirmation is challenged when people face climate change because it requires them to consider their contribution to the problem, which can threaten their sense of integrity and trigger self-defense.

“A good portion of people who deny climate change recognize that there is some change, but the change is so threatening because it basically could affect your quality of life. It could affect your income. It could affect a number of different things that you care about,” said Wong-Parodi, an assistant professor of Earth system science at Stanford’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Stanford Earth).

Some preliminary studies suggest that rather than trying to get around people’s identities and denial of climate change, conversations should instead embrace their views. We should not try to ignore who people are, but rather acknowledge their views so that they can be dealt with and the conversation can move on to behavioral changes – such as finding solutions that match their values and do not threaten a person’s sense of identity or quality of life, according to Wong-Parodi.

“I think we often forget that people can have many identities – there might be a political identity, but there is also an identity as a mother, or an identity as a friend or an identity as a student,” said Wong-Parodi, who is also a fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment . “You can elicit other identities when you’re talking about climate change that may be more effective.”

How can citizens become agents of environmental change?

Some programs work better than others when it comes to involving citizens in preserving the environment. After reviewing those that worked, Stanford researchers propose a blueprint for how others can educate people to maximize their impact.

Additional co-authors include Irina Feygina, an independent practitioner in Brooklyn, NY.

This work was supported by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Media Contacts

Danielle T. Tucker School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences [email protected] , 650-497-9541

Gabrielle Wong-Parodi School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences [email protected] , 650-725-6457

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