“What’s Up with the Weather?” public engagement with extreme event attribution in the United Kingdom
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Author(s)
Ettinger, Joshua
Walton, Peter
Painter, James
Osaka, Shannon
Otto, Friederike EL
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The science of extreme event attribution (EEA)—which connects specific extreme weather events with anthropogenic climate change—could prove useful for engaging the public about climate change. However, there is limited empirical research examining EEA as a climate change communication tool. To help fill this gap, we conducted focus groups with members of the U.K. public to explore benefits and challenges of utilizing EEA results in climate change advocacy messages. Testing a range of verbal and visual approaches for communicating EEA, we found that EEA shows significant promise for climate change communication because of its ability to connect novel, attention-grabbing, and event-specific scientific information to personal experiences and observations of extreme events. Communication challenges include adequately capturing nuances around extreme weather risks, vulnerability, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction; expressing scientific uncertainty without undermining accessibility of key findings; and difficulties interpreting mathematical aspects of EEA results. On the basis of our findings, we provide recommendations to help address these challenges when communicating EEA results beyond the climate science community. We conclude that EEA can help catalyze important dialogues about the links between extreme weather and human-driven climate change.
Date Issued
2021-04-09
Date Acceptance
2021-04-01
Citation
Weather, Climate, and Society, 2021, 13 (2), pp.341-352
ISSN
1948-8327
Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Start Page
341
End Page
352
Journal / Book Title
Weather, Climate, and Society
Volume
13
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2021 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright
Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).
Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).
Identifier
https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/wcas/13/2/WCAS-D-20-0155.1.xml
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-04-09