Do we all suffer from climate change denial?
Climate change denialism is something that applies to more than just diehard non-believers, a University of NSW researcher argues.
The unprecedented bushfire crisis has strengthened demand for government action on climate change and galvanised Australians to take to the streets protesting against the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Some Australians have taken more drastic action, such as actor Yael Stone who gave up the permanent right to work in the US.
But for many people, such action seems unrealistic.
"While we may know it is better for the environment to give up our car for public transport, stop using single-use plastics, or eat less meat — we do not always do all these things all the time," Belinda Xie asserts.
"It’s almost impossible to live with zero impact on the planet, but it’s what we do when we recognise this that matters.”
The UNSW PhD candidate specialises in cognitive science and researches the psychology of climate change.
“It’s important that we acknowledge we are all climate deniers, to some extent, and then understand how and why we reached this point,” Ms Xie said.
“It’s not simply because humans are bad or selfish people: there are a lot of external factors out of our control, such as the information we consume that can encourage denialism, or the way our economy is set up.
“So, we then need to ask ourselves: how do we overcome this denialism – what action can we take as a community and what can government and business do?”
Ms Xie said psychologists’ interest in climate science ramped up when climate scientist James E. Hansen told the US Senate in 1988 that the greenhouse effect had been detected and was changing the climate.
“Climate scientists have been doing their research and communicating it for many decades, but achieving behavioural change has been difficult,” she said.
“So, psychologists have been trying to find out why – for example, psychologists discovered that emotions and shared values, not facts, more easily resonate with people.
“People also feel psychologically distant from climate change: they think it’s not going to happen to them, it’s going to happen in the future, or it's going to happen overseas.”
What do you think? Is everyone that doesn’t take immediate action to address climate change in denial?
I was born in London during WWII and grew up in an era where everybody used coal for heating. We lived in a 3 bedroom apartment, which had two fire places. One in the Lounge room and the other in my parent's bedroom. We ALL had coal bunkers because we all used coal. Well, I remember the thick smog which blanketed London in the 50's and 60's, which was caused by coal. There were only about 10% of the cars on the road then, compared with now. We had electric trolley buses, and the Underground for transport, so not adding to the smoke emissions. Even the coal was usually delivered by a horse drawn cart. It became so bad you literally could not see 2metres in front of you. The buildings were being eaten by the acid in the fumes, and we were breathing it every day. Something had to be done, and they brought in the Clean Air Act. We had to convert to coke instead of coal. No choice - it was the law. Well I saw the difference it made, and the buildings later covered in scaffolding while they cleared off decades of smoke damage, and repaired where eaten away.
I've seen what a difference a Government that will act, makes. Something we are sorely lacking here. So our emissions only account for 1.5% of global emissions - well if all the other countries that only emitted 1-2% said the same, half the world could refuse to do anything. Just because a couple of countries won't make the necessary changes, doesn't give us permission to do the same.
Coal is very dirty, with what it sends up into the atmosphere, when burnt. So we really should be using cleaner alternatives.