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PSYCHOLOGY

Climate uncertainty communication

Nature Climate Change volume 9, pages 802–803 (2019)Cite this article

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The consequences of global warming will be dire, but the full extent of these effects on society is unknown and includes uncertainties. Research now suggests that how scientists communicate about the uncertainty over such climate change impacts can influence the public’s trust and acceptance of this information.

In communicating about uncertainty associated with climate change, there is a delicate balance to be struck between being too precise3, which can lead to overconfidence in perceived accuracy, or making overtly vague statements (for example, “There is a possibility that sea level rise will occur in the near future”), which contain less information than evinced by scientific consensus. Furthermore, one needs to be sensitive to the fact the uncertainty is often interpreted by the audience differently than intended by the communicators4. Given these uncertainties, it was previously suggested that conveying the inherent complexities and lack of predictability in the climate system was an appropriate scientific communication strategy5.

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References

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA

    Emily H. Ho & David V. Budescu

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  1. Emily H. Ho
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  2. David V. Budescu
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Correspondence to Emily H. Ho or David V. Budescu.

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Ho, E.H., Budescu, D.V. Climate uncertainty communication. Nat. Clim. Chang. 9, 802–803 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0606-6

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