04 October 2019
10:00 to 12:00
IIASA, Gvishiani Room, Laxenburg, Austria
Information for registration below.
Atmospheric scientist Katherine Hayhoe visits IIASA
During the visit Hayhoe will meet with IIASA researchers to learn more about the institute and to discuss her recent work on climate modelling. She will also give a lecture titled “Barriers to Public Acceptance of Climate Science, Impacts, and Solutions”. The lecture will be concluded by a Q&A session, and a meeting with the IIASA Women in Science Club.
Barriers To Public Acceptance of Climate Science, Impacts, and Solutions
The challenge posed by human-induced climate change to society and the natural environment has been carefully and methodically summarized by thousands of peer-reviewed studies and decades’ worth of exhaustive reports by Royal Societies, National Academies, federal agencies, and the IPCC. As the scientific evidence builds, however, public and political opinion in the U.S.—as well as in other developed nations including Australia, the U.K., and Canada—remains sharply divided along ideological, socio-economic, and religious lines.
Understanding the reasons that have created and fed this polarization is crucial to the success of outreach efforts that attempt to bridge this divide. The main reason for this divergence is not a deficit of information or knowledge among the public. Instead, there are a plethora of causes that can be variously categorized as psychological, societal, political, and economic. The diversity of these barriers helps explain why no single message or campaign has been able to successfully turn the tide of public opinion. By identifying each of these barriers, however, I will share from my experience how it is possible to bypass much of the “he said-she said” stalemate in media and outreach activities, transitioning instead towards positive action based on a foundation of shared values and concerns.
About Katherine Hayhoe
Katharine Hayhoe is an accomplished atmospheric scientist who studies climate change and why it matters to us here and now. She is also a remarkable communicator who has received the American Geophysical Union’s climate communication prize, the Stephen Schneider Climate Communication award, and been named to a number of lists including Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, Foreign Policy’s 100 Leading Thinkers, and FORTUNE magazine’s World’s Greatest Leaders.
Katharine has served as lead author on the Second, Third, and Fourth National Climate Assessments. She also hosts and produces the PBS Digital Series, Global Weirding, and serves on advisory committees for a broad range of organizations including the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, the Earth Science Women’s Network, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Katharine is currently a professor and directs the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University.
She has a B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Toronto and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Illinois.
Further Information on the Directorate Lecture & Informal Talk/Discussion
Program:
- Friday, 4th of October, 10:00-11:00 in the Gvishiani Room:
Directorate Lecture by Prof. Katherine Hayhoe on “Barriers to Public Acceptance of Climate Science, Impacts, and Solutions” - Friday, 4th of October, 11:00-12:00 in the Gvishiani Room:
Informal Talk and Discussion (also on her recent work on climate modelling)
If you wish to attend the lecture as well as the following talk and discussion, please register with Alberto Fresolone by sending an e-mail stating your name, address and telephone or mobile phone number.
Registrations will be accepted until the 2nd of October.
