Including Public Voices in Scientific Research – Challenges, Prospects, and Pathways
There is a growing demand for public engagement with science. However, many scientists lack training and experience in this form of science communication. Find out more about how and why public engagement may benefit you and your research. In his book ‘The Engaged Scholar – Expanding the Impact of Academic Research in Today’s World’ (2021, […]
What Can We Expect From COP27?
As every year, November will be another high season for international climate politics – with the 27th Conference of the Parties – the COP27 – starting next week. From November 7 to 18, delegates of all nations from the UNFCC will gather in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to discuss how to proceed with international climate […]
Climate Endgame – How to Research and Communicate Extreme Climate Risks?
“Are we screwed?”, “How bad is it gonna get?” – these are the questions that I most frequently get when I mention that I am in climate science. Newspaper coverage of a recent perspective article in PNAS seemed to suggest that we are actually headed towards a global catastrophe with potential extinction and that we […]
Telling the Truth, Uniting Behind the Science – Climate Coalitions and Science’s Place in Society
In recent years, a new wave of climate activist groups, such as Extinction Rebellion, Fridays for Future and the Sunrise Movement have reshaped public debates on climate action. In so doing they refer to scientific evidence. But, how exactly do they understand science’s relationship to society? Drawing on documentary evidence, our recent study argues that […]
“Cranky Uncle” – A Game Against Denial
One big question for climate change communication is how to deal with deniers and stop misinformation from spreading. A smartphone game called “Cranky Uncle” teaches players common techniques of denial, such as ‘cherry picking’, logical fallacies, and conspiracy theories. What looks like a funny diversion is actually built upon a scientific theory and developed by […]
Global Climate Change in Local Journalism: How to Make Local Journalists Rethink Their Framing
Not only in photography do choice of angle and frame decide what we see. Photo by Ludovic Charlet, Pixabay. Framing of climate change in local newspapers considerably influences how citizens perceive climate change in their living environment. A master thesis entitled “Global climate change in local journalism” takes a closer look at the main source […]
The Soundtrack of the Climate Crisis – or: „Where are all the Climate Songs?“
Extreme weather events and forest fires have recently pushed the climate crisis up on the news agenda – still, going to the cinema or listening to the radio rarely gets us in contact with the topic. Where are the songs dealing with the climate crisis? In two previous posts, we have written about climate change […]
Nachhaltigkeit geht alle an – drei Beiträge zum Thema Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation
(English summary below) Die aktuelle Ausgabe der Zeitschrift Communicatio Socialis versammelt diverse interessante Beiträge zum Thema Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation. Das Plädoyer darin: Nachhaltigkeit geht alle an, und auch Journalismus und Wissenschaft können sich nicht länger auf einen distanzierten Beobachterstatus zurückziehen. Die Zeitschrift ist leider nicht frei lesbar. Für alle, die keinen Zugang zum Journal haben, sind hier […]
RCP-8.5: Business-As-Usual or Unrealistic Worst-Case? The contested interpretation of climate change scenarios
RCP-8.5 is not only the arguably most popular climate change scenario, it is also often framed in a very specific manner: as the business-as-usual trajectory that humanity is on if no climate change policies are adopted. For an academic discipline that actively tries to be policy-relevant, climate science in the context of the IPCC is […]
The Australian 2022 Election: moving in the right direction?
“It’s going to get worse before it gets worse”, summarised Liberal Party pollster Tony Barry on election night. And while the intricacies of the Australian preferential election system still keep the official final outcome open, the devastating defeat of the centre-right alliance, the “Coalition” of the Liberal and National Parties, was already certain.