Despite a scientific consensus, citizens are divided when it comes to climate change, often along political lines, and scholars want to better understand why.
“We were interested in understanding the clear political divide in the U.S. on climate change beliefs and related policies and behaviors. Nearly all Democrats believe in human-induced climate change and many support climate mitigation policies, yet many Republicans remain skeptical,” said James Druckman, the Payson S. Wild Professor of political science in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University and co-author of a recent article in Nature Climate Change.
Druckman, also associate director of the University’s Institute for Policy Research, said a prominent explanation for the divide is that it stems from directional “motivated reasoning,” meaning, in this case, individuals skeptical about climate change reject ostensibly credible scientific information because it contradicts what they already believe.
“This is a depressing scenario for those hoping to get movement on climate change opinions,” Druckman added.
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