Understanding Climate Change Disagreement

By Trevor Getz

You’ve likely heard people disagree about the causes and effects of climate change. But if there’s so much evidence behind it, why is there still disagreement? This article will dig into this important question.

A crowd of tourists observe an iceberg in a lagoon during an autumn day in Iceland.

Introduction

Ninety-seven percent of scientists believe that climate change is happening and that it’s caused by human activities. The majority of scientific organizations and governments around the world agree. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an international organization that assesses the science of climate change. It says that “scientific evidence for the warming of the climate system is unequivocal,”¹ meaning that it is very conclusive.

Well, that settles that debate, right? Not so fast. While there’s a powerful scientific agreement that greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels are warming our planet, to understand the problem of climate change, we must look beyond the science. Climate change is as much a political, social, and economic problem as it is a science problem. There is no simple definition for climate change. Yes, the phrase describes measurable, observed effects on physical systems, but it also connects to many human systems.

Maybe it’s not all that surprising that there’s disagreement about climate change. After all, a wide range of values, beliefs, and attitudes exist worldwide. However, this disagreement causes a major slowdown in finding solutions for climate change. Let’s look at how political, economic, and social issues influence disagreement on climate change. This can help us better understand how to find common ground.

The political problem

A group of lawmakers on a stage raise hands and cheer for the passing of a climate deal in Paris in 2015. — *Climate change deal struck at Paris Summit. © Getty Images.*

There is plenty of scientific evidence showing that climate change is a real problem. Still, there are small but powerful groups that aren’t unconvinced. These groups often have political power and influence. As a result, climate change has become a very politically divided issue. Some people take positions just because they are the beliefs of their political party. Internationally, countries often find it hard to act together. Some countries want to spend money on their own interests rather than international ones. Some people believe that the countries most responsible for carbon emissions should take more responsibility for fixing the problem. No country wants to be the first to act unless it’s clear that everyone else will, too. What’s more, many international climate agreements are voluntary, so nothing happens if a country fails to meet its goals.

The economic problem

A chart with two columns comparing the higher relative cost of one ton of cement after carbon capture versus conventionally produced cement. — * New price after carbon capture ranges from $219 to $300

This graph shows the cost of a normal ton of cement versus the cost of low-carbon cement, using carbon capture technology to capture CO2 emissions. As you can see, clean cement costs significantly more than the conventional option. Courtesy of Breakthrough Energy.

Solving the problem of climate change will be expensive. Trillions of dollars every year will be needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and find new ways to live in a warming world. Not solving the problem of climate change will also be expensive. Countries will have less money, health problems will increase, and extreme weather will cause damage. Some people don’t think it’s worth spending huge amounts of money right now to try to stop climate change. Others disagree on the details of where to spend our limited resources. Some organizations work to influence public opinion and laws by spreading messages of doubt about climate change. There are also businesses, individuals, and communities that are dependent on current fossil- fuel-based systems to make money.

The social problem

Many people believe that climate change is happening, but they don’t think it’s a big problem. One reason is that we try to protect ourselves from problems by denying them or pretending they aren’t that bad. Plus, people are good at identifying immediate threats. Run into a bear while you’re hiking, and it’ll get all your attention. Something that might happen in a decade or more just doesn’t command the same attention.

Our culture sometimes makes it easy to ignore evidence and hard to act on issues like climate change. Some studies show that Americans tend to distrust experts such as scientists and the media.²

Chart showing the significant decline of trust in major U.S. institutions from around 50 percent in 1979 to 27 percent in 2022. — *Americans’ trust in our national institutions, as measured by this annual Gallup poll, has fallen steadily since 1979. Graph courtesy of Gallup.*

Misinformation is information that is not based on facts. Disinformation is deliberately misleading or biased information. Both play a key role in the disagreement surrounding climate change. Sometimes, this can take the form of flat-out denial from leaders. Organizations might also share information in a way that underplays the seriousness of climate change or exaggerates certain risks. Another risk is greenwashing. Greenwashing is the term used to describe what happens when a company falsely claims its products or services to be less damaging to the environment than they actually are. Other times, misinformation and disinformation is spread by individuals or groups through social media. This has made it difficult for people to know what to believe on the internet, and it can get in the way of meaningful climate action.

Bringing it together

There are many understandable reasons for disagreement on climate change. However, individuals and groups start to change their opinions as they experience its effects firsthand. The public also becomes more supportive of an action when it’s clear that the financial opportunities outweigh the costs. We need to make climate action open to everyone from every community. This pressing issue can only be properly addressed if we work together.

1 NASA. “How Do We Know Climate Change is Real?” https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
2 Giancarlo Pasquini, Alison Spencer, Alec Tyson, and Cary Funk. “Why Some Americans Do Not See Urgency in Climate Change.” Aug. 9, 2023. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/08/09/why-some-americans-do-not-see-urgency-on-climate-change/

Trevor Getz

Trevor Getz is a content editor for the Climate Project and a Professor of African and World History and affiliated with the Education program at San Francisco State University. His work centers on history and social studies as a vehicle for helping students understand contemporary issues such as climate change.

Credit: “Understanding Climate Change Disagreement”, Trevor Getz / OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/

Image credits

Creative Commons This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 except for the following:

Cover image: Tourists observing the iceberg in the Jokusarloon glacier lagoon during an autumn day, Iceland, Europe. © carlo alberto conti / Moment / Getty Images.

This graph shows the cost of a normal ton of cement versus the cost of low-carbon cement (using carbon capture technology to capture CO2 emissions). As you can see, clean cement costs significantly more than the conventional option. Courtesy of Breakthrough Energy. https://breakthroughenergy.org/our-approach/the-green-premium/

Americans’ trust in our national institutions, as measured by this annual Gallup poll, has fallen steadily since 1979. Graph courtesy of Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/394283/confidence-institutions-down-average-new-low.aspx

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