Understanding public complacency about climate change: adults’ mental models of climate change violate conservation of matter |
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| Authors: | John D Sterman Linda Booth Sweeney |
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| Institution: | (1) MIT Sloan School of Management, 30 Wadsworth Street, Room E53-351, Cambridge, MA, 02142, U.S.A.;(2) Harvard Graduate School of Education, Massachusetts, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | Public attitudes about climate change reveal a contradiction. Surveys show most Americans believe climate change poses serious
risks but also that reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions sufficient to stabilize atmospheric GHG concentrations can
be deferred until there is greater evidence that climate change is harmful. US policymakers likewise argue it is prudent to
wait and see whether climate change will cause substantial economic harm before undertaking policies to reduce emissions.
Such wait-and-see policies erroneously presume climate change can be reversed quickly should harm become evident, underestimating
substantial delays in the climate’s response to anthropogenic forcing. We report experiments with highly educated adults –
graduate students at MIT – showing widespread misunderstanding of the fundamental stock and flow relationships, including
mass balance principles, that lead to long response delays. GHG emissions are now about twice the rate of GHG removal from
the atmosphere. GHG concentrations will therefore continue to rise even if emissions fall, stabilizing only when emissions
equal removal. In contrast, most subjects believe atmospheric GHG concentrations can be stabilized while emissions into the
atmosphere continuously exceed the removal of GHGs from it. These beliefs – analogous to arguing a bathtub filled faster than
it drains will never overflow – support wait-and-see policies but violate conservation of matter. Low public support for mitigation
policies may arise from misconceptions of climate dynamics rather than high discount rates or uncertainty about the impact
of climate change. Implications for education and communication between scientists and nonscientists (the public and policymakers)
are discussed. |
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