Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

The value of values in climate science

Subjects

To date, values are not widely acknowledged or discussed within physical climate science. Yet, effective management of values in physical climate science is required for the benefit of both science and society.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Chen, D. et al. in Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis (eds Masson-Delmotte, V. et al.) Ch. 1 (IPCC, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021).

  2. Douglas, H. E. Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal (Univ. Pittsburgh Press, 2009).

  3. Elliott, K. C. A Tapestry of Values (Oxford Univ. Press, 2017).

  4. Douglas, H. in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Science (ed. Humphreys, P.) 609–630 (Oxford Univ. Press, 2016).

  5. Anderson, E. Hypatia 19, 1–24 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Intemann, K. Eur. J. Philos. Sci. 5, 217–232 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Winsberg, E., Oreskes, N. & Lloyd, E. Stud. Hist. Philos. Sci. A 84, 142–149 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Parker, W. S. & Winsberg, E. Eur. J. Philos. Sci. 8, 125–142 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Brown, M. J. Science and Moral Imagination: A New Ideal for Values in Science (Univ. Pittsburgh Press, 2020).

  10. Shepherd, T. G. et al. Clim. Change 151, 555–571 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Jebeile, J. Soc. Epistemol. 34, 453–468 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Longino, H. Science as Social Knowledge: Values and Objectivity in Scientific Inquiry (Princeton Univ. Press, 1990).

  13. Parker, W. S. & Lusk, G. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 100, 1643–1650 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Lusk, G. Philos. Sci. 87, 991–1002 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Mairm, D. et al. Understanding our Political Nature: How to Put Knowledge and Reason at the Heart of Political Decision-Making (Publications Office of the European Union, 2019).

  16. Shepherd, T. G. Clim. Change 169, 2 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Corner, A. A New Conversation With the Centre-Right About Climate Change: Values, Frames and Narratives (COIN, 2013).

  18. Pielke, R. The Honest Broker: Making Sense of Science in Policy and Politics (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007).

  19. Oreskes, N. Daedalus 149, 33–45 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Winsberg, E. in Climate Modelling: Philosophical and Conceptual Issues (eds Lloyd, E. A. & Winsberg, E.) 381–412 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).

  21. Lee, J. Y. et al. in Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis (eds Masson-Delmotte, V. et al.) Ch. 4 (IPCC, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021).

  22. Hope, P. et al. in Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis (eds Masson-Delmotte, V. et al.) Ch. 1 (IPCC, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021).

  23. Seneviratne, S. I. et al. in Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis (eds Masson-Delmotte, V. et al.) Ch. 11 (IPCC, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021).

  24. Shepherd, T. G. Nat. Geosci. 7, 703–708 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Ranasinghe, R. et al. in Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis (eds Masson-Delmotte, V. et al.) Ch. 12 (IPCC, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021).

  26. Doblas-Reyes, F. J. et al. in Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis (eds Masson-Delmotte, V. et al.) Ch. 10 (IPCC, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021).

  27. Adams, P. et al. Toward an Ethical Framework for Climate Services: A White Paper of the Climate Services Partnership Working Group on Climate Services Ethics (CGIAR, CCAFS, 2015).

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank W. Parker and T. Mauritsen for useful comments. We also acknowledge the support of the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (FORMAS), grant no. 2018-01797.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

The Comment originated from a workshop organized by S.U., K.P., F.B. and P.W.-S., in which all co-authors took part. K.P. wrote the majority of the manuscript and led and coordinated the discussion, assisted by S.U., with contributions from F.B., P.W.-S. and all co-authors. S.U. drafted Boxes 1–3.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karoliina Pulkkinen.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pulkkinen, K., Undorf, S., Bender, F. et al. The value of values in climate science. Nat. Clim. Chang. 12, 4–6 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01238-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01238-9

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing