Understanding Climate Change Disagreement
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 organization that assesses the science of climate change. It says that “scientific evidence for the warming of the climate system is unequivocal.”1 This means that it is very conclusive.
Well, that settles that debate, right? Not so fast. There is no simple definition of climate change. Yes, the phrase describes measurable, observed effects on physical systems, but it also connects to many political, economic, and social issues.
Disagreement causes a major slowdown in finding solutions for climate change. Let’s look at how political, economic, and social issues play a role.
The political problem
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
* 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 gases and find new ways to live in a warming world. Not addressing 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 on this issue right now. Others don’t agree on the details of where to spend money or who should pay. There are also businesses, people, and communities that rely 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. We do this 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.
A culture’s beliefs sometimes make it easy to ignore the issue of climate change. Some studies of Americans show that they tend to distrust experts. That distrust can get in the way of listening to scientists and the media when they report on issues like climate change.2
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 false information that’s spread on purpose. Sometimes, these types of information 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 when a company falsely claims that its products or services are less damaging to the environment than they actually are. Other times, misinformation is spread through social media. Misinformation and disinformation have made it difficult for people to know what to believe on the internet. It can get in the way of meaningful climate action.
Bringing it together
There are many understandable reasons why disagreement about climate change happens. However, we see that opinions change as people begin to experience its effects firsthand. The public also becomes more supportive of an action when it’s clear that the financial opportunities outweigh the costs. That’s why we need to make climate action open to everyone from every community. To address the issue of climate change, we must all 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
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.
Climate change deal struck at Paris Summit. © Arnaud BOUISSOU / COP21 / Anadolu Agency / 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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