Uncertain Climate: An Investigation into Public Scepticism about Anthropogenic Climate Change

This study presents a detailed investigation of public scepticism about anthropogenic climate change in Britain using the trend, attribution, and impact scepticism framework of Rahmstorf (2004). The study found that climate scepticism is currently not widespread in Britain. Although uncertainty and scepticism about the potential impacts of climate change were fairly common, both trend and attribution scepticism were far less prevalent. It further showed that the different types of scepticism are strongly interrelated. Although this may suggest that the general public does not clearly distinguish between the different aspects of the climate debate, there is a clear gradation in prevalence along the Rahmstorf typology. Climate scepticism appeared particularly common among older individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who are politically conservative and hold traditional values; while less common among younger individuals from higher socioeconomic backgrounds who hold self-transcendence and environmental values. The finding that climate scepticism is rooted in people's core values and worldviews may imply coherent and encompassing sceptical outlook on climate change. However, the results that attitudinal certainty is mainly concentrated in non-sceptical groups suggest that climate sceptical views are not held very firmly. The implications of the findings for climate change communication and engagement are discussed.