¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Policy Commission on Communicating Climate Science I
The ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Communicating Climate Science Policy Commission (CCSPC) is an interdisciplinary body comprising experts from academia, policy, environment, business, media and the arts.
10 April 2014
The first ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Policy Commission on Communicating Climate Science (I), chaired by Prof Chris Rapley (¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Earth Sciences), comprised a cross-disciplinary project group of researchers from psychology, neuroscience, science and technology studies, earth sciences and energy research - examined the challenges faced in communicating climate science effectively to policymakers and the public, and the role of climate scientists in communication. Â
About
The Commission explored the role of climate scientists in contributing to public and policy discourse and decision-making on climate change, including how highly complex scientific research which deals with high levels of uncertainty and unpredictability can be effectively engaged with public and policy dialogue. Â
The Commission also examined the insights that scientific research and professional practice provide into how people process and assimilate information and how such knowledge offers pathways for climate scientists to achieve more effective engagement. Â
Finally, the Commission sought to identify the approaches that climate scientists can adopt to effectively communicate their messages and to make clear recommendations to climate scientists and to policy-makers about the most effective ways of communicating climate science.Â
The Commission’s activity included a one-day experimental event, ‘Seeing Yourself See’, with a number of climate scientists to discover how they saw their role and their perspectives on the communication of climate science.  Â
¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Policy Commission on Communicating Climate Science (I) was supported by ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Public Policy, which seeks to bring ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº's academic expertise to bear on pressing public policy challenges by integrating knowledge and evidence from across disciplines to inform policy. Â
Outputs and impact
- ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Policy Commission on Communicating Climate Science (I) published a report 'Time for Change?' outlining five key recommendations for professional communities involved in climate science. In addition to the full report a policy briefing was produced.Â
- Short report of the experiential event ‘Seeing Yourself See’ (pdf), held as part of the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Commission in 2013 Â
- A commissioned review of psycho-sociology in the context of psychology and neuroscience ‘Psychosocial Contributions to Climate Sciences Communications Research and Practice’ (±è»å´Ú)Ìý
- Contributed written evidence to Select Committee, oral evidence to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee as part of the ‘’ and cited by the same committee in their report ‘’.ÌýÌý
- Developed and delivered training science communication training for NERC doctoral students with an increasing number of universities participating. Â