Evaluating the scientific credentials of the supporters of public petitions denying anthropogenic climate change

Abstract

Notwithstanding the extensive media coverage of topics related to climate change, communication initiatives in open contradiction with the scientific understanding of climate change as a primarily anthropogenic phenomenon are still widespread. We focus here on a recent such initiative, which gained notoriety between the second half of 2019 and the first half of 2020. We show that its promoters and signatories generally display an extremely low level of scientific activity within the field of climate change. We use this as a basis to reflect upon the scientific credentials of those behind climate change misinformation and the broader context of the communication of climate change.

Keywords

• climate change communication
• climate change denial
• climate change miscommunication