Climate change and public opinion

Analysis and Comment (16)

W6xr74rs-1364181513
Most people struggle to do more than the basics when it comes to climate change action. What pushes others to really take on the challenge? Province of British Columbia

Beyond light bulbs: individual responsibility and climate action

By Jennifer Kent, University of Technology, Sydney

International negotiations have failed to give us strong global commitments on climate change. Nations are falling short on their commitments for greenhouse gas emission reductions. Forget top-down solutions…
3xzpt3jn-1365488075
Chasing Ice is trying to get us out of the climate change hole we’ve dug for ourselves. EPA/Baard Ness

Chasing Ice bewitches eyes but won’t change minds

By Ann McCulloch, Deakin University

Science seems to be failing to change the minds of those who are sceptical about the reality of anthropogenic climate change. Chasing Ice – a film by Jeff Orlowski, playing in Australia currently – tries…
9cct82jf-1361530835
We have to get used to the idea that climate change doesn’t happen in a smooth line. thinboyfatter/flickr

Time to stop hiding behind warming trends

By Roger Jones, Victoria University

Dr Rajendra Pachauri, head of the IPCC, has reportedly acknowledged to Graham Lloyd of The Australian, that there is a “17-year pause in global temperature rises”, a fact that apparently has been suppressed…
4j38myw3-1360114293
Everyone likes to stand out from the crowd, but sometimes ignoring the consensus goes too far. James Cridland

There is no such thing as climate change denial

By John Cook

In a sense, there is no such thing as climate change denial. No one denies that climate changes (in fact, the most common climate myth is the argument that past climate change is evidence that current…
8w7nfvwp-1357870840
More people are telling researchers they’re sceptical about climate change, but for different reasons. US Mission Canada

Climate of doubt: what Australians think about climate change

By Ann Evans and Anna Reimondos

There is growing evidence that public opinion about climate change is shifting over time. In many countries, surveys reveal that people are becoming less worried, and in some cases more sceptical about…
Njs45kjy-1353985212
The science on climate change hasn’t become less clear since 1990, but media coverage has. Garry Knight

How we lost 20 years on climate change action

By Maria Taylor

Scientists have warned about the “greenhouse effect” for years. Now it is no longer a scientific nightmare; it has arrived. Lines from Al Gore’s famous movie? No. The Sydney Morning Herald published…
Fhn245rm-1357602187
It’s easy to find the human angle in heatwave stories, but climate change has them too. Jocelyn Durston

Media is missing climate in heatwave story

By Simon Divecha

As Australia stares at “a once-in-20 or 30-year heatwave”, with temperatures over 40 degrees, it is likely that more extreme weather events similar to this are in store for us. The probability of this…
Xtmggwsr-1355704226
Australia’s newspapers took a very shallow view of the carbon price. Beppie K/flickr

Biased newspaper reporting on the carbon pricing mechanism

By David Karoly, University of Melbourne; Christian Slattery, University of Melbourne; Kathryn Townley, University of Melbourne, and Kerrie Haria Adams, University of Melbourne

The Australian print media have been criticised for inaccurately reporting the carbon pricing mechanism (CPM), and in some instances for actively campaigning against the Gillard government. Research from…
2zmnxzbw-1354831653
Want to know what’s going on with the atmosphere? Ask the American Geophysical Union. Jim Nix

The real debate on climate is happening in San Francisco

By Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol

The latest climate talks in Doha are unlikely to yield a breakthrough. Instead, the can will most likely be kicked further down the road, at considerable future cost. The Doha negotiations coincide with…
6vc3cnr7-1352870809
Presenting scientific information isn’t likely to change made-up minds, but there are a lot of un-made-up minds out there. Department of Energy and Climate Change

Science alone won’t change climate opinions, but it matters

By Ben Newell

Does scientific knowledge matter in the climate debate? Recent research suggests that it is not “what you know” but “who you are” that counts in making up your mind about climate change. What are the…
Xt3xs6r9-1353288704
Worrying about the future is bad for your survival – have we evolved to prefer optimism? Vassilis Galanos

How we evolved to reject climate science

By Paul Biegler, Monash University

Is it any wonder so many people turn their back on climate science? Who wants to hear – as the World Bank told us today – we’re heading for a four-degree-warmer world, with more heatwave deaths and life…
3s6tkw2g-1352779705
The American people have spoken in favour of climate change by re-electing Barack Obama to a second presidential term. Flickr/350.org

Obama’s second term challenges must include tackling climate change

By Barry Naughten

In his acceptance speech of November 6, Barack Obama at long last reaffirmed the need to address global warming. But unfortunately he also reaffirmed the spurious goal of US oil independence, which can…
Y6xffwyc-1352064501
Ignoring climate change isn’t stupidity, it’s ideology. Peter Foley/EPA

A storm of stupidity? Sandy, evidence and climate change

By Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol

“It’s global warming, stupid” – Bloomberg’s Businessweek cover last week left little doubt about their opinion concerning “Frankenstorm” Sandy. The accompanying tweet anticipated that the cover might…
J2ymmgs2-1344489176
Many Australians think they have experienced events associated with climate change. AAP Image/Tony McDonough

What does ‘belief’ in climate change really mean?

By Joseph Reser, Griffith University

Where one stands on “climate change” has been such a vexed and often confusing issue, at dinner parties, over coffee, with the taxi driver, and in terms of media reporting of where the Australian public…
H3ryxzkb-1343699546
Australians generally accept that the climate is changing, but we have lost confidence in politicians, experts, and the media to guide us in what to do about it. Flickr/spodzone

Reading the Climate of the Nation 2012

By Graeme Pearman, Monash University

Over the past several decades, scientists have studied the climate of the world and how that is changing. These studies have built on the recognition, made over 150 years ago by John Tindall, that certain…

Research and News (2)

Research Briefs (1)

Participants (104)