What is the Impact of Consensus Messages in Germany?
“97% of all climate scientists agree that human-made climate change is happening”— climate communication researchers regard this so-called consensus message as one of the most effective tools for reducing skepticism. How much does this number actually change in people’s minds? And what lies behind the oft-cited “Gateway Belief Model”? This post was orginally published in […]
Disruptive Klimaproteste und die Polarisierung der Klimadebatte: Drei Erkenntnisse aus unseren Studien
Wo steht Deutschland auf dem Weg zur Klimaneutralität – und warum gerät Klimaschutz gesellschaftlich zunehmend unter Druck? In unseren Studien über die Letzte Generation und Fridays for Future gehen wir einer zentralen Facette dieser Entwicklung nach: der Frage, wie sich unterschiedliche Formen von Klimaprotest auf die öffentliche Klimadebatte auswirken. Im Fokus stehen dabei die moderaten Protestformen […]
When communication meets reactance
When people feel their freedom is being threatened, they often react with rejection—a phenomenon known in psychology as “reactance.” This poses a significant challenge for climate communication, which must convince the public of the necessity for massive societal changes. But how exactly does this psychological resistance arise, and what can we do to mitigate or […]
Generational conflict or shared responsibility? Finding common ground across generations
When it comes to climate change, the interests of the young and the old seemingly stand diametrically opposed to one another. But does this oft-cited generational conflict truly exist? Or can our shared responsibility for the future be used to build new bridges? In today’s edition, we explore these questions by looking at three recent […]
Study of the month: How (radical) protest affects publics
Climate protests have repeatedly sparked broad public debates in recent years. At times, activists have even been compared to terrorist organizations—and public discourse has drifted away from the central question of how effective climate action can be achieved. Drawing on two studies, we ask: does it have to be this way? Research shows that both […]
Study of the month: Why we should talk more about health and climate
Climate change has serious consequences for human health: more intense heatwaves, the spread of diseases to new regions, wildfire smoke, and increasing allergies all directly affect people’s bodies and wellbeing. These issues impact not only vulnerable groups, but everyone, yet many people are not aware of this connection. Research shows that communicating the health impacts […]
Faktenwissen über den Klimawandel und Klimapolitik
In unsere Umfragen im Forschungsprojekt Down2Earth integrieren wir seit 2015 ein kleines Wissensquiz über Klimapolitik. In diesem Beitrag möchten wir über die Antworten und Hintergrundinformationen zu den Wissensfragen informieren. Prüfen Sie gern selbst, ob Sie die richtigen Antworten gewusst hätten. Forschende des Yale Program on Climate Change Communication argumentierten in einer vor kurzem veröffentlichten Studie, […]
Study of the month: How to reach young people
Young people will be most affected by the consequences of climate change, a problem which many of them are highly aware of. Yet in the increasingly entrenched and polarized climate debates, they are often more spectators than participants—partly because they have limited opportunities to play a role in political processes or influence decisions in business. […]
Study of the month: How to Promote Adaptive Coping with Climate Anxiety
The threats posed by climate change are enormous: extreme weather events, rising sea levels, accelerating species extinction and more dominate media coverage — and understandably cause fear. However, it is both important and very much possible to not become paralyzed by these fears, and instead learn to deal with such negative feelings and worries constructively. In […]
Study of the Month: How to Effectively Counter Climate Mis- and Disinformation
It’s a bit like pulling weeds: false and misleading information keeps cropping up in conversations about the causes, consequences, and solutions to the climate crisis, severely hampering constructive debate. Tackling each piece of misinformation individually is labor-intensive and time-consuming, so we ask what else can be done to improve the situation in the long term? […]