Prof. Katharine Hayhoe Profile picture
Sep 24, 2020 10 tweets 5 min read Read on X
I've spoken before about the generally unhelpful nature of purity tests and the role BP played in popularizing the concept of personal carbon footprint and by association, personal guilt ... but the results of this study made even me say WOW. journals.ametsoc.org/wcas/article/d… Image
Do not get me wrong: though climate change requires system-wide solutions, systems are made up of people and our actions DO matter. But "if everyone did X we could fix it" and "if you don't do X you are evil" alienates more potential allies than it gains, even though ..
... our motives for doing so are entirely understandable. If we really understand climate change is scares us sh**less and our natural reaction to fear is to attempt to control it and our own behaviour and that of others is a lot easier to control than multinationals and govts.
The fear is what spurs us to action. But our action must be constructive. Bring climate impacts down to the local scale to de-polarize the issue and connect with others; emphasize surprising, inspiring, and inclusive solutions that bring others on board. ted.com/talks/katharin…
I talk about how i reduce food waste, plug in my car, have a carbon-smart travel policy; but I also share communities we can engage with, surprising actors from companies to cities making massive changes; smart farming techniques, new technology, bipartisan policies + more.
Fear drives us to demand "this silver bullet as the solution" but in reality there is so much "silver buckshot" and demonstrating the short-term positive effects of such choices and actions is what motivates us to move forward together to a better future. drawdown.org
Action is what must result if we are to have any hope. @reneelertzman ted.com/talks/renee_le…
Recommended further reading by my @allwecansave co-author @MaryHeglar -> vox.com/the-highlight/… and my colleague in science and communication, @MichaelEMann -> time.com/5669071/lifest…
h/t to @MaibachEd at the very end since he's the one who alerted me to this study. At the end, so he doesn't get inundated by all the replies! Of course, we'd agree, it's only one study. We need many. But it's worth considering + fits w other work pointing in the same direction.
And for anyone who wants a bit more of a lit review on the connection between fear, hope, and efficacy (feeling empowered and able to act), here's a few studies:
1/ journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10…
2/ tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…
3/ frontiersin.org/articles/10.33…

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More from @KHayhoe

Apr 12
Nearly every climate denial argument I’ve ever heard falls into one of these five categories.

1 - it’s not real
2 - it’s not us
3 - it’s not bad
4 - it’s too hard/costly to fix
5 - it’s too late

And you know which is growing the fastest these days? The last one 😳
That’s because it’s growing at both sides: from those who understand it’s a great excuse to continue to delay action, as well as from those who are so paralyzed by fear that it’s more comforting for them to give up then to keep fighting.
There’s so much to be done, and the biggest emotion most people are missing is not fear but efficacy. That’s why I say … Image
Read 4 tweets
Dec 13, 2023
#COP28 wrapped up in the early hours today. Where do we stand? With a stronger mandate to tackle the root causes of climate change than we had before--but with much less than what we need to avoid "dangerous interference with the climate system" and meet our Paris goals. 🧵 Text reading: It's time to decide, which side of history will you choose to be on?
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the terms of the agreement provide about 30% what's needed to reach the 1.5C target. iea.org/news/iea-asses…
In other words, 30% of the gap in this figure has been bridged. For more, check out @climateactiontr climateactiontracker.org/global/cat-emi…
Emission gap to meeting the Paris 1.5C target
Read 16 tweets
Dec 3, 2023
There's lots of announcements and news coming out of #COP28. I'm here to rank them for you from a climate scientist's perspective, using 🌴 for the wins and 🤦‍♀️ for the facepalms.

Did I miss something? Let me know and I'll add it to this list! #ClimateAction #COP28FromHome 🧵
On Day 1, 198 nations ratified the framework for making COP27's loss + damage fund operational, and the first pledges were made. The EU led with $245M, while the US pledged $17.5M or about 0.002% of its defense budget.

I rate this one 🌴, and here's why:
lemonde.fr/en/environment…
This fund is badly needed, as nations least responsible for the problem are those bearing the brunt of the impacts. However, this is just a fraction of the $200-$250 billion developing countries will need **every year** by 2030 to adapt to climate change. germanwatch.org/en/cri
Read 12 tweets
Nov 14, 2023
Today, the 5th US National Climate Assessment was released. I've been an author now for 4 assessments - so what's new with this one, and why does it matter? (thread) nca2023.globalchange.gov
First, previous NCAs are still very relevant. If you want to know more about everything from climate scenarios to tipping points, check out the 2017 Climate Science Special Report and for great answers to the most common FAQs, see science2017.globalchange.gov
nca2018.globalchange.gov
However, over the last 5 yrs there have been significant advances in:
🌍 the science, esp. extreme event attribution
🤝 understanding the interconnectedness & inequality of the impacts
🚀 Adaptation & mitigation solutions
... all over a background of growing public concern.
Read 7 tweets
Oct 5, 2023
Today, @pontifex released Laudato Deum, an update on the 2015 encyclical. It's not so much a breath of fresh air as it is a bucket of ice water, straight to the face of those who are standing in the way of and delaying climate progress. Here are a few highlights:
On the science: "Despite all attempts to deny, conceal, gloss over or relativize the issue, the signs of climate change are here + increasingly evident. No one can ignore the fact that in recent years we've witnessed extreme weather phenomena." I agree. nytimes.com/2021/08/17/opi…
On inequity: "There are those who would place responsibility on the poor, since they have many children. As usual, it would seem that everything is the fault of the poor. Yet the reality is that a low, richer percentage of the planet contaminates more than the poorest 50%." 🔥🔥
Read 10 tweets
Aug 28, 2023
45 climate scientists were asked what we thought of this years' climate disasters. Here are the highlights of what we said (thread) theguardian.com/environment/20…
Image
We all pretty much agree that "despite it certainly feeling as if events had taken a frightening turn, global heating to date is entirely in line with 3 decades of scientific predictions. But being proved right is cold comfort, as our warnings had so far been largely in vain."
Malte @meinshausen offered a zinger: "Climate science’s projections are pretty robust over the last decades. Unfortunately, humanity’s stubbornness to spew out ever higher amounts of greenhouse gases has also been pretty robust."
Read 9 tweets

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