2022/12/08 by Warren Pearce, August Lindemer · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Climate Change Communication and Perception
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/9781009082099.032
openalex publication_date 2022/12/08 · openalex created_date 2022/12/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
This chapter analyses the development of IPCC policy for the communication of its reports, the content and style of IPCC communication, and how IPCC knowledge becomes reappropriated for alternative, often political, purposes. In doing so, we review IPCC policy documents, key literature on the IPCC and climate science communication, as well as providing a case study of a recent controversy in IPCC communication: the reappropriation of a paragraph from the IPCC 1.5 ºC special report to headline a political campaign that there were only 12 years to prevent dangerous climate change. This controversy highlights the huge transformations in the political and media landscapes since the IPCC’s formation in 1988 and opens up the question of whether its communication approach remains fit for purpose. We highlight how the IPCC’s communication dilemma stems from the historic decision to design it to be an authoritative voice rather than a deliberative space.