UCL Policy Commission on Communicating Climate Science I

The UCL 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 UCL Policy Commission on Communicating Climate Science (I), chaired by Prof Chris Rapley (UCL 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. 

Project information

Funding Source: UCL Public Policy
Year: October 2012 to April 2014

Collaborators

Chairs

Chris Rapley CBE (Chair) – Professor of Climate Science, UCL Earth Sciences

Commissioners

Dr Chris Brierley, UCL Geography
Dr James Carney, Social & Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group, University of Oxford
Dr Richard Clarke, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology
Ms Anne Haugvaldstad, UCL MSc Climate Change
Dr Candice Howarth, Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University
Dr Beau Lotto, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology
Dr Kris De Meyer, Department of Informatics, King’s College London
Prof Susan Michie, UCL Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology
Dr Nick Smith, UCL Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology
Dr Michelle Shipworth, UCL Energy Institute
Dr Jack Stilgoe, UCL Science & Technology Studies
Prof David Tuckett, UCL Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology
Dr Stuart Youngs, Creative Director, Purpose

Support Team and Special Advisers

Sarah Chaytor, UCL Office of the Vice-Provost (Research)
Dr Ana Padilla, UCL Office of the Vice-Provost (Research)
Nicholas Tyndale, UCL Office of the Vice-Provost (Research)

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.

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.

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.

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.  

UCL Policy Commission on Communicating Climate Science (I) was supported by UCL Public Policy, which seeks to bring UCL's academic expertise to bear on pressing public policy challenges by integrating knowledge and evidence from across disciplines to inform policy. 

Headline findings

Communication: There is a need for the general public and climate scientists to engage in constructive dialogue, and for climate scientists to convey a big picture that provides a context for the discussion of new scientific results and their consequences. The authentic and personal voice of climate scientists in this process is essential for the general public to establish trust in the findings of climate science.
Training: Training and development of climate scientists should address strengthening the transparency of the climate science process, and the degree of public participation within it. More specifically, the objective is to equip the community as a whole with the skills to fulfil a range of roles from ‘pure scientist’ to ‘honest broker of policy options’.
Policy: Rather than assuming a role of ‘truth speaks to power’, climate scientists should assume a role of ‘co-production’: where they can contribute their expertise alongside other experts to inform policy formulation and the decision-making process.
Leadership: A professional body for climate scientists should be established to provide a unifying purpose and to offer leadership.
Self-reflection: Active critical self-reflection and humility when interacting with others should become the cultural norm on the part of all participants in the climate discourse.

Final report: Greening the Recovery (pdf) →

Outputs and impact

UCL 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.
Short report of the experiential event ‘Seeing Yourself See’ (pdf), held as part of the UCL Commission in 2013 
A commissioned review of psycho-sociology in the context of psychology and neuroscience ‘Psychosocial Contributions to Climate Sciences Communications Research and Practice’ (pdf)
Contributed written evidence to the Environmental Audit Select Committee, oral evidence to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee as part of the ‘Climate: Public Understanding And Policy Implications’ and cited by the same committee in their report ‘Communicating climate science. Eight report of session 2013-2014’.
Developed and delivered training science communication training for NERC doctoral students with an increasing number of universities participating.

Contact us

UCL Policy Commissions are an initiative under the UCL Public Policy Strategy. They are a way of bringing together academics and researchers across disciplines to consider issues of considerable public policy importance and to attempt to address these by consolidating and synthesising knowledge and expertise. They aim to deliver novel insights derived from crossdisciplinary collaboration and to make policy recommendations on the basis of these.

If you have any questions about UCL Public Policy Commissions, please email public-policy@ucl.ac.uk.

See more case studies →