The field of climate change is constantly changing, and every shift brings new levels of scientific disinformation. For example, recent analysis has emerged on RCP8.5, a scenario whose worse case scenario has been scaled back as the costs of renewable energy have fallen. While one particularly extreme model for warming has become more optimistic, the overall outlook remains worrisome. The response to this news, unsurprisingly, has re- ignited attacks on climate research.
On June 22, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists hosted a live dialogue on YouTube with the authors of a recently published article explaining these new developments, the political debate around it, and how to understand the current outlook using the most recent data.
Speakers included:
Genevieve Guenther, the founding director of End Climate Silence and the author of The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil-Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It. Guenther consults and advises on new solutions for climate communication, including how to talk about climate and energy in elections, the future of climate politics and clean-energy development, myths in climate economics, disinformation about climate technologies, and climate policy in China.
Michael E. Mann is presidential distinguished professor at The University of Pennsylvania. He is co-author with Peter Hotez of the newly published book Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World. His previous book was Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis.
Alexandra Bell (moderator,) president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
