How to Talk to Conservatives About Climate Change

Conservatives perceive terrorism and crime to be much larger and more immediate threats than climate change. How can their minds change?

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The United States has a climate change acceptance problem. It’s elected a President who’s on record claiming global warming is a Chinese hoax. One of its two major political parties has “refusal to accept climate science” as a major policy. It’s taking steps to leave the only agreement that every other country in the world has ratified: COP21, the agreement to work to limit global warming.

And a lot of Americans simply just don’t accept how well climate scientists understand the issue and the solutions.

Luckily, there’s hope. Cognitive science is helping us understand how to communicate more effectively with people who don’t currently accept the science behind global warming and climate change.

Why is the U.S. like this?