Climate Change Denial

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Denialism - the avoidance of a generally accepted truth or fact
- this is generally assumed to be because it is psychologically uncomfortable (e.g. cognitive dissonance)
- In a sane person this would appear as an irrational refusal to accept empirically verifiable evidence

The Fossil Fuels Lobby has a vested interest in surviving as an industry.
- It can play a critical role in shaping public policy (e.g. in UK and USA)
Energy subsidies by governments keep fossil fuels prices artificially low.
- Fossil fuels received $550 billion in subsidies compared with $120 billion for all renewables (2013).
Ideology (n.b. it is a complex term)
- There seem to be more global warming deniers on the political right than on the left. (Why?)
- This may be exacerbated, or caused by differences in financial support from fossil fuel companies(?).
Disinformation is a deliberate falsification of facts
- (unlike 'misinformation', which is passing on incorrect information by mistake).
- Confirmation bias is an easy thing to exploit in communication strategies.
- Many climate change ‘skeptics’ spend a lot of time on climate change denial sites
The Precautionary Principle
- Some climate change deniers argue that the scientific consensus is only 'scaremongering'.
- But this seems to put the settling of truth claims above the need to implement the lowest-risk policies
- Precaution means defaulting to the safer options where significant harm is possible
Conspiracy theories
- These can evolve to incorporate whatever evidence exists against them
- They can become a closed system that is unfalsifiable,
- i.e. "a matter of faith rather than proof" (Barkun, M., 2003).
Pseudoscience probably works in a similar way.

Stephan Lewandowsky – psychologist at the University of Bristol.
Dana Nuticelli – environmental scientist who works with Prof Lewandowsky.
Katherine Hayhoe – atmospheric scientist (Director of Climate Science Centre, Texas Tech University)