How Climate Change Science Is Reflected in People’s Minds. A Cross-Country Study on People’s Perceptions of Climate Change
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. The Science-Based Climate Change Topics: A Literature Review
3.1. Climate Change between Awareness and Denialism
3.2. The Causes of Climate Change
3.3. Manifestations and Solutions as Disconnected Narratives of Climate Change
3.4. Adaptation and Maladaptation
3.5. Climate Change: A Source of Conflict
3.6. The Heroes, Villains, and Victims of Climate Change
“The King” of Climate Change Villains
4. Results
The Reflection of the Six Science-Based Climate Change Topics in Belgians’ and Romanians’ Minds
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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The Scientific-Based Climate Change Topics | The Referenced Literature |
---|---|
Climate change between awareness and denialism | [21,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53] |
The causes of climate change | [54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67] |
Manifestations and solutions of climate change | [68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85] |
Adaptation and maladaptation | [52,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107] |
Climate change: a source of conflict | [14,108,109,110,111,112,113,114,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122,123] |
The heroes, villains, and victims of climate change | [26,82,124,125,126,127,128,129,130,131,132] |
“The king” of climate change villains | [25,133,134,135,136,137,138,139] |
Romanian Participants (n = 14) | Belgian Participants (n = 15) | |
---|---|---|
Gender (% out of the sample) | 50% male | 53.34% male |
50% female | 46.66% female | |
Education (completed level) | 57% university level | 60% university level |
43% 12 years of education | 40% 12–14 years of education | |
Living area | 69% urban | 53.33% urban |
21% rural | 46.67% rural | |
Average age (years) | 41.50 | 47.00 |
The “Quirks” and Their Subtopics | Romanian Participants | Belgian Participants |
---|---|---|
CC * between awareness and denialism | ||
Awareness | All respondents were aware of CC existence. | All respondents were aware of CC existence. |
Denialism | ||
Exaggeration | Most (10 out 14) believed CC was an exaggerated topic. | Six Belgians considered CC as a pretext for some politicians to impose measures. Only one participant thought CC was an exaggerated topic. |
Causes of CC | ||
Human activity (mainly) | Only two persons believed that natural causes are the main contributor to CC. | No Belgian pointed to natural causes as the main contributor to CC. |
Nature (mainly) | ||
Both human activity and nature | Most people considered that human activity was responsible for CC. However, they also mentioned nature as a contributor, but a minor one compared with anthropogenic impact. | Most people considered that human activity and natural causes are responsible for CC. |
Supranatural forces | One person named God as the artisan of CC. | Nobody believed in God or other supernatural causes as a contributor to CC. |
Manifestations and solutions of CC | ||
Romania/Belgium vs. other countries, regions, continents | All participants considered that CC is visible in Romania, but CC effects are more visible in other parts of the world. They mainly mentioned Africa as the worst-affected continent. | All participants said that CC is present in their region, but CC is more visible in other parts of the world. They mainly mentioned Africa and South-Eastern countries being the worst-affected. |
About the existing solutions | Regarding the implemented/future solutions to combat CC, most participants considered that suddenly applied restrictions would impoverish the population. One person believed that these would help to improve the current situation. | Out of the seven answers that touched on the climate change solution topic, five included the idea that the existing solutions can limit but not stop climate change. |
Reversible/irreversible effects of CC and the role of technology towards this | The majority thought that the effects of climate change could be reversible under certain circumstances. | Ten Belgians believed that the effects of CC could be reversible. |
The technology could help if used wisely and not at very high costs. | The majority voiced that the new technologies would find solutions to CC. | |
CC adaptation and maladaptation | ||
Successful CC adaptation cases | Nobody was aware of successful CC adaptation cases. | Only one person could mention a successful CC adaptation initiative. |
Maladaptation cases | The ban on wood for heating was often mentioned in the context of maladaptation. Electric cars, GMOs, and blocking fossil resources exploitation were other themes around which some of the participants justified their answers as maladaptation examples. | The transition to green energy (including the case of electric cars) and the abolition of nuclear power plants without having the security of supply was mentioned as a maladaptation case. |
Principles/rules to be considered for CC strategies | “Solidarity”, “cooperation”, “consultation”, “common sense”, and “reasonable, rational, and decent welfare” were most often maintained as principles that should guide the implementation of the measures. | No recurrent principle/rule was identified. They range, for example, from cooperation, global thinking, or systemic vision. |
Climate change: a source of conflict | ||
Specific sources of conflict | Everybody opined that CC was or could be a source of conflict. Most participants mentioned land, food, and water as sources of conflict. | Everybody opined that CC was or could be a source of conflict. Most Belgians mentioned water, food, air, migration as sources of conflict. |
Conflicting parties | When people referred to conflicting parties, most responses mentioned people vs. their states, states vs. states, small manufacturers vs. corporations, ordinary people vs. politicians. | When Belgians referred to conflicting parties, most named the states, local people, and multinational companies. |
The heroes, villains, and victims of climate change | ||
The villains | The answers were very diverse regarding the culprits. They ranged from politicians to multinational companies and big states. One participant named mass media and scientific community, another blamed the past generations (starting with the Industrial Period), and another participant added to the list of CC villains “farmers and the mining industry.” However, the majority pointed to politicians. | Five out of fourteen considered that everyone is responsible for CC. Others named Western cultural heritage and industry as the villains. Nobody mentioned specific countries, multinationals, or politicians. |
The victims | Most of the interviewed Romanians considered that ordinary people (themselves) were the victims of CC; only three of them mentioned nature as a victim. | Ten participants believed that poor people (from developing countries) were the victims. Others named as victims the farmers, fishermen, and even the consumers. |
The heroes | Four people said they do not trust anyone to stop/alleviate the effects of CC. | Three people said they do not trust anyone to stop/alleviate the effects of CC. |
Three mentioned God as a force who could guide the steps towards solutions; others mentioned the politicians if they changed their habits. Other mentioned lay people if they changed their way of living. One participant considered that a revolution is needed to change the organization, production, and consumption system. | Most Belgians pointed to science as capable to offer the solutions to CC. Other respondents named the youth, local non-profit associations, the associative sectors, or the world organizations as forces who could guide the steps towards solutions. Only one person considered the lay people among those who could deliver a solution. |
The Six Science-Based Topics | The Portrayals Generated by the Citizens for the Six-Science Based Topics | |
---|---|---|
Romanian Participants | Belgian Participants | |
CC between awareness and denialism | “CC exists, but it is often used as an exaggerated and politicized subject” (Monica) | “Yes, there is climate change (…), and it is not exaggerated to talk about climate change” (Téa) |
Causes of CC | “Human activity is the main cause of CC. Natural causes also contribute, but not as much as humans” (Zoltán) | “Human activities and natural changes are the causes of climate change. Human activities have the most significant impacts and produce GEG, which will be stocked in the atmosphere for a long time.” (Victor) |
Manifestations and solutions of CC | “Climate change is present in Romania. We are dealing with violent storms, droughts, and floods. Also, the seasons have changed… The effects are more visible on other continents such as Africa and Asia” (Bogdan) “Nature can regenerate to a certain level” (Daniela) | “Climate change is already present in my region. Less snow during winter, heavy rains in summer 2021. Climate change is principally seen in other parts of the world. South-Eastern countries are impacted mainly by climate change due to increased sea levels (Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka…)” (Anna) “Nature could regenerate, but some changes are irreversible” (Gabriel) |
CC adaptation and maladaptation | “If the measures are taken at the national level, are taken overnight, and people are not mentally and financially prepared to deal with them, they will be a failure, and we will witness social movements.” (Dani) “Cooperation between people, politicians, and countries would be beneficial” (Doina) | “The proposed solutionswill not stop the effects of climate change, but surely, they will reduce them.” (Liam) “(…) to have a systemic vision, global thinking, and local actions” (Téa) |
Climate change: a source of conflict | “Land, food, and water can be sources of conflict” (Cristina) | “Water, fish resources, and forests are sources of conflict” (Anna) |
The heroes, villains, and victims of climate change | “The culprits are the big companies for irresponsibly exploiting resources and pollution; governments are not taking the necessary steps to transform the system; and consumers who lack involvement and consume excessively.” (Daniela) “The victims of CC are us, the ordinary people” (Monica) “I don’t know who to trust” (Mariana) | “We are all responsible for climate change, but mainly the capitalist and ultraliberal system in which we live.” (Liam) “Poor people are the main victims of climate change” (Noah) “I am confident in science to find solutions.” (Adam) |
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Petrescu-Mag, R.M.; Burny, P.; Banatean-Dunea, I.; Petrescu, D.C. How Climate Change Science Is Reflected in People’s Minds. A Cross-Country Study on People’s Perceptions of Climate Change. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 4280. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19074280
Petrescu-Mag RM, Burny P, Banatean-Dunea I, Petrescu DC. How Climate Change Science Is Reflected in People’s Minds. A Cross-Country Study on People’s Perceptions of Climate Change. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(7):4280. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19074280
Chicago/Turabian StylePetrescu-Mag, Ruxandra Malina, Philippe Burny, Ioan Banatean-Dunea, and Dacinia Crina Petrescu. 2022. "How Climate Change Science Is Reflected in People’s Minds. A Cross-Country Study on People’s Perceptions of Climate Change" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 7: 4280. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19074280