Explaining How Long CO2 Stays in the Atmosphere: Does It Change Attitudes Toward Climate Change?

Despite overwhelming scientific consensus about climate change, the majority of Americans are not very worried about it. This may be due in part to insufficient understanding of the urgency and seriousness, which may be related among some, to distrust of the scientific community. We test these hypotheses in an experimental study using a broadly nationally representative sample. An explanation of the delay between the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and cessation of global warming was compared to two control groups, one with basic climate change information and another with no information. Participants also received climate predictions that either included or excluded uncertainty estimates for a 3 x 2 complete factorial design. Results suggest that the delay explanation increased participants understanding of this issue and reduced their agreement with a wait-and-see strategy, especially among conservatives. Moreover, uncertainty estimates increased trust in climate predictions and ratings of climate scientists' expertise and understanding. Uncertainty estimates also increased concern about climate change and the perception of scientific consensus. Although in some cases small, these positive effects were seen across political ideology groups.

Automated summary

Providing participants with an explanation for the delay between greenhouse gas emission reduction and cessation of global warming was found to increase understanding and decrease agreement with a wait-and-see strategy. Uncertainty estimates increased trust in climate predictions and ratings of climate scientists' expertise and understanding, as well as concern about climate change and perception of scientific consensus. These positive effects were observed across political ideology groups, albeit sometimes small.