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Making sense of climate change—the lived experience of experts

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  • Jean S. Renouf

    (Southern Cross University)

Abstract

While numerous challenges associated with climate change exist, it remains difficult to fully comprehend its full implications on one’s life. Explanations for this range from psychological and cognitive barriers to social, political and economic impediments. This article provides the findings of a research project which investigated the lived experience of climate scientists and climate change experts to understand how they make sense of climate change. The research is based on qualitative interviews with 16 participants located in 12 different countries. The research finds that participants made sense of climate change through a diversity of ways, both professional and personal, including personal experience, emotions, exchanges with others and broader societal context. While for most, climate change started as an area of professional interest, it seems to have permeated their personal lives to a great extent. They see it as a disruption of the normal way of life and all concur about the gravity of the situation. The deeper implication of this study of the lived experiences of climate experts is that there is ground to be concerned.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean S. Renouf, 2021. "Making sense of climate change—the lived experience of experts," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:164:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-021-02986-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-021-02986-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dan Kahan, 2012. "Why we are poles apart on climate change," Nature, Nature, vol. 488(7411), pages 255-255, August.
    2. Astrid Dannenberg & Sonja Zitzelsberger, 2019. "Climate experts’ views on geoengineering depend on their beliefs about climate change impacts," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 9(10), pages 769-775, October.
    3. Kelly Levin & Benjamin Cashore & Steven Bernstein & Graeme Auld, 2012. "Overcoming the tragedy of super wicked problems: constraining our future selves to ameliorate global climate change," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 45(2), pages 123-152, June.
    4. Chris Rapley & Kris De Meyer, 2014. "Climate science reconsidered," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(9), pages 745-746, September.
    5. Susan Clayton, 2018. "Mental health risk and resilience among climate scientists," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 8(4), pages 260-261, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Friederike Hartz, 2024. "“We are not droids”– IPCC participants’ senses of responsibility and affective experiences across the production, assessment, communication and enactment of climate science," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 177(6), pages 1-21, June.
    2. Chris Neale & Maura M. K. Austin & Jenny Roe & Benjamin A. Converse, 2023. "Making people aware of eco-innovations can decrease climate despair," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(12), pages 1-21, December.
    3. Stefan M. Buettner, 2022. "Roadmap to Neutrality—What Foundational Questions Need Answering to Determine One’s Ideal Decarbonisation Strategy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-24, April.

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