“Despite credible forecasts and warnings from the scientific community about climate change for a quarter of a century, greenhouse gas emissions have continued to grow, signals of human-induced climate change have clearly emerged, and a preponderance of scientists studying the issue project more adverse consequences to come unless stronger actions are taken…But public and policy-maker commitment to action of this seriousness remains elusive…the gap between climate science and climate policy and action remains huge.” (Gus Speth, 2006)
The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication:
- Conducts research on public climate knowledge, risk perceptions, decision-making and behavior;
- Designs and tests new strategies to engage the public in climate science and solutions;
- Empowers educators and communicators with the knowledge and tools to more effectively engage their audiences.
The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication (originally the Yale Project on Climate Change) grew out of a groundbreaking conference on “Americans and Climate Change” that the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies convened in 2005 in Aspen, CO. Over 100 national leaders representing science, media, religion, politics, entertainment, education, business, environmentalism, and civil society came together to develop an action plan to engage American society on climate change. Their charge was to diagnose why, in the face of ever stronger climate science, the United States had been slow to act and to recommend a set of initiatives to catalyze action.
The conclusions and recommendations from the conference are available online in the conference report "Americans and Climate Change: Closing the gap between science and action."
Related efforts beyond climate per se involve catalyzing inspiring visions of a sustainable world and practical strategies to achieve them via our Visions of a Sustainable World project.