More scientific evidence won’t convince climate change sceptics, but a wider ranging dialogue might

In an article for The Guardian, Adam Corner, a research associate at Cardiff University specialising in the psychology of communicating climate change, made a compelling argument for the importance of dialogue in combating climate scepticism.

‘...[M]any of the arguments that rage around climate science are not really about climate change at all: they are disputes about personal values, regulation, economic growth or the acceptable level of government intervention in our lives. Climate change just happens to cut to the heart of these red hot issues – and so it is used as a vehicle for thrashing out ancient disputes...

‘Providing opportunities for people to deliberate with each other about climate change allows the reasons for disagreement to come to the fore. If these reasons are based on values, cultural world-views or ideology, then it makes sense to get these disagreements out into the open rather than obscuring them by fighting political battles using the language of science.’

His article is a challenge to climate scientists to step out of their comfort zone and engage in these wider debates. It also suggests that, when it comes to climate change, dialogue and deliberation are not just an interesting exercise in citizenship, they are essential if we are to move forward.

A similar conclusion emerged in a recent report of a House of Lords round table run by the Development Education Association, titled ‘Nudge, Think or Shove.’ The report considers different approaches to behaviour change and found that while using ‘nudge’ (such as providing carbon off-setting as a default on some airlines) can create small movements towards sustainable behaviour, ‘think’ is necessary for broader, long-term lifestyle changes. Deliberative engagement can help ‘a person to learn more about sustainability and offers the prospect of engaging them emotionally in the need to change.’ For challenging issues such as climate change this suggests that there is a complex interplay between nudge, engagement and legislation. Policy makers need to take time to work out which is most relevant to their context.

Find out more about the Big Energy Shift and Low Carbon Communities Challenge dialogue projects, commissioned by DECC and supported by Sciencewise-ERC, that focus on tackling climate change in local communities.