Science, Politics and Climate Change Policy

250 members of the US National Academy of Sciencespublished an open letterin Science magazine on the need to have science (rather than politics and politically-motivated misinformation) be the foundation of climate policy.

Scientists tend to know that they have a communications problem at least when it comes to conveying their findings in ways that can affect both policy-making and improve public understanding of their topics.   In fact, much of our own work dwells in this very arena – helping experts communicate their knowledge in ways that don’t just bounce off or confuse the target audience.  Sometimes this is about finding ways of framing information so that it can “fit” well enough with people’s pre-existing models to “stick” with people [link].  Sometimes it is about understanding the “information environment” that their findings are being translated into, whether it is the journalistic narratives that the media prefer to use [link], or the distorting power of a legislative session [link].

In this case, their problem is seriously intensified, when scientists and their findings are systematically attacked by a well-funded and sophisticated campaign to discredit their work and confuse the public.

Most scientists get little or no training in how to put their work out into such a hostile information environment, and this is evident in the unhappy fact that despite the increasingly sophisticated and ironclad scientific evidence about the human role in climate change, polls show the US public growing even less knowledgeable about the topic.

It's clear that scientists and their allies (and most especially those active on politically volatile topics), have to be able to counter the disinformation campaigns of their detractors with more skilled and sophisticated communications strategies.