scholarly journals The benefits of using TV-meteorologists as climate change communicators

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Doksæter Sivle ◽  
Anniken Celine Berger ◽  
Mai-Linn Finstad Svehagen ◽  
Hans Olav Hygen ◽  
Jelmer Jeuring
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
State Agency ◽  
Climate Information ◽  
Monthly Basis ◽  
Weather Forecasts ◽  
Climate Research ◽  
Local Point ◽  
Weather Situation ◽  
High Degree

<p>User surveys indicate that the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET Norway) enjoys a very high level of trust in the Norwegian population, being the state agency with the best reputation in Norway 15 years in a row. In our latest annual polling close to 85 percent say they have a high degree of trust in our climate research, while 82 percent have a high degree of trust in our TV meteorologists as climate change communicators. The combined climate science and communication expertise within MET Norway can capitalize on these high levels of trust to advance climate communication for Norwegian society. This is the backdrop for the project TV meteorologists as climate communicators initiated in spring 2019, inspired by similar projects in other countries, especially Climate Matters in the USA.</p><p>MET Norway supplies meteorologists to forecast the weather at NRK, the Norwegian national public broadcaster. The TV-meteorologist's assets is that they use language that people understand, and that they can talk about climate change from a local point of view and in relation to the weather situation at a given time. The main objective of this project was therefore to regularly include climate information in the weather forecasts on NRK radio and television. </p><p>In 2019 and 2020 we had 40 stories in the weather forecasts on NRK television. Most of the stories have been related to temperature changes, but also about Arctic sea-ice, flash-floods, and changes in snow cover. The TV-meteorologists involved in the project report that they mainly get positive feedback from the audience. The majority of the stories have also been shared through social media and through press releases to reach other audiences than those that watch TV. Most of these stories have been shared (e.g. retweeted) by multiple users, and we estimate a reach of about 20 percent of Norway's population as realistic.</p><p>The TV-meteorologists have also received training in both climate research and climate communication on a monthly basis since the project started. After the project ended in december 2020, 40 percent of the TV-meteorologists said that they feel more comfortable to communicate climate information than before the project started. </p><p>The project is now operationalized in a climate editorial desk on MET, consisting of several climate researchers, TV-meteorologists and communication advisors that meets on a weekly basis. </p>

Using art to explore children’s perceptions of their Arctic community in a changing climate 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lipson ◽  
Kim Reasor ◽  
Kååre Sikuaq Erickson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Bears ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Subsistence Hunting ◽  
Sea Ice Decline

<p>In this project we analyze artwork and recorded statements of 5<sup>th</sup> grade students from the community of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, who participated in a science-art outreach activity. The team consisted of a scientist (Lipson), an artist (Reasor) and an outreach specialist (Erickson) of Inupiat heritage from a village in Alaska. We worked with four 5th grade classes of about 25 students each at Fred Ipalook Elementary. The predominantly Inupiat people of Utqiaġvik are among those who will be most impacted by climate change and the loss of Arctic sea ice in the near future. Subsistence hunting of marine mammals associated with sea ice is central to the Inupiat way of life. Furthermore, their coastal homes and infrastructure are increasingly subject to damage from increased wave action on ice-free Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. While the people of this region are among the most directly vulnerable to climate change, the teachers reported that the subject is not generally covered in the elementary school curriculum.</p><p>The scientist and the local outreach specialist gave a short presentation about sea ice and climate change in the Arctic, with emphasis on local impacts to hunting and infrastructure. We then showed the students a large poster of historical and projected sea ice decline, and asked the students to help us fill in the white space beneath the lines. The artist led the children in making small paintings that represent things that are important to their lives in Utqiaġvik (they were encouraged to paint animals, but they were free to do whatever they wanted). We returned to the class later that week and had each student briefly introduce themselves and their painting, and place it on the large graph of sea ice decline, which included the dire predictions of the RCP8.5 scenario. Then we added the more hopeful RCP2.6 scenario to end on a positive note.</p><p>Common themes expressed in the students’ artwork included subsistence hunting, other aspects of traditional Inupiat culture, nature and family. Modern themes such as sports and Pokémon were also common. The students reacted to the topic of climate change with pictures of whales, polar bears and other animals, and captions such as “Save the world/ice/animals.” There were several paintings showing unsuccessful hunts for whales or seals. Some students displayed an understanding of ecosystem science in their recorded statements. For example, a student who painted the sun and another who painted a krill both succinctly described energy flow in food webs that support the production of whales (for example, “I drew krill because without krill there wouldn’t be whales”). Some of the students described the consequences of sea ice loss to local wildlife with devastating succinctness (sea ice is disappearing and polar bears will go extinct). The overall sense was that the children had a strong grasp of the potential consequences of climate change to their region and way of life.</p>

scholarly journals Science Directions in a Post COP21 World of Transient Climate Change: Enabling Regional to Local Predictions in Support of Reliable Climate Information

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 1498-1507 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Stammer ◽  
A. Bracco ◽  
P. Braconnot ◽  
G. P. Brasseur ◽  
S. M. Griffies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Information ◽  
Transient Climate Change

Oil Companies and Climate Change: Inconsistencies between Strategy Formulation and Implementation?

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 42-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingvild Andreassen Sæverud ◽  
Jon Birger Skjærseth
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Strategy Formulation ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Corporate Strategies ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Framework Conditions ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Level 2 ◽  
Insight Into

This article examines major oil companies in terms of climate strategies and their implementation. More specifıcally, it takes a critical look at Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil, and the relationship between rhetoric and action regarding investments in climate-friendly activities. Empirical evidence indicates a generally high degree of consistency between what these companies say and what they do, but interesting differences are also found: ExxonMobil has done somewhat more than its climate strategy formulations would suggest; Shell has done somewhat less; whereas BP's activities are mainly in line with its statements. Factors at three levels contribute to explaining these differences: (1) the company level, 2) the political framework conditions in the various regions where the companies operate, 3) international climate cooperation. The fındings and explanations, although restricted to the three oil companies with regard to climate change, provide insight into the relationship between corporate strategies and implementation more generally. They offer understanding and analytical categories for assessing how well and why such multinational entities put into practice stated objectives.

scholarly journals From climate information to climate services: the need for a Belgian climate service centre

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rozemien De Troch ◽  
Piet Termonia
Keyword(s):  
Service Provision ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
Climate Information ◽  
Climate Services ◽  
Climate Research ◽  
Scientific Expertise ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Meteorological Institute

<p>The Belgian expertise with respect to climate research is very fragmented and led by both federal (like the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium, hereafter RMI) as well as regional scientific research institutions and universities. Furthermore, both in societal, research as well as policy context there is an increasing need for detailed, quantitative, reliable and consistent climate information and services, in particular linked to the expected climate changes and its impacts in different sectors (e.g. water, agriculture, energy, health, transport).</p><p>To make all this scientific expertise and climate information available in a coordinated and, above all, user-friendly way, a Belgian climate centre or a one-stop shop for climate research and services would fully address the needs. With its long-standing scientific expertise and service provision, RMI plays a crucial role in fulfilling this growing need for climate information and services.</p><p>Hence, RMI has elaborated a proposal on the creation of a Belgian climate centre. For the creation of such centre it is preferable to use existing collaborations from previous or ongoing research and service-provision activities in Belgium, requiring a structural cooperation in which each members’ expertise can be fully deployed. In the context of a previous research project, a large consortium of Belgian research institutions active in regional climate modelling, calculated for the first time a consistent set of high-resolution climate projections and sectoral impacts for Belgium. Nevertheless, it should be emphasized that the number of models used was far too limited to develop reliable information of the future climate. Moreover, this was a one-time project and there is currently an urgent need to update the climate projections to meet the new scientific requirements of the IPCC's new sixth Assessment Report.</p><p>One of the activities of the centre would thus be the coordination of the climate research based on scientific research projects. Furthermore, in order to ensure the continuous development and provision of climate services based on this objective and scientifically based expertise coming from Belgian climate scientists, the climate centre would carry out two main core tasks: (i) the production and storage of climate information and (ii) the support for the development of climate services.</p><p>The financing and implementation of a Belgian climate centre, would provide a structural framework for climate research and services, establishing partnerships with the various regions and communities, at both policy and research levels. In this way, RMI, as national meteorological institute and at the start of the climate services value chain, can guarantee a continuous scientific expertise and respond to the major needs for climate information and services at national and international level.</p>

scholarly journals Paesaggi d’acqua in territori fragili

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Maria Biddau ◽  
Gianfranco Sanna ◽  
Silvia Serreli
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Landscape Design ◽  
Environmental Disasters ◽  
Weather And Climate ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Urban Transformations ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Climate Events

Environmental disasters and the high degree of exposure of cities to these risks are well known. What is evident is the close relationship between these disasters and urban transformations generated by sectoral approaches to landscape design that have made territories more vulnerable to extreme weather and climate events. With the aim of creating an open and sustainable spatial plan, the case study outlined in this article is intended as an approach to climate adaptation, even though in Sardinia the connection between climate change and flood risk has not been studied in depth and the evidence of this connection has not yet emerged.

scholarly journals Arctic Sea Ice’s Amplification as a Complement to Anthropogenic Global Warming

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Morando
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Number Count ◽  
Anthropogenic Global Warming ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Scientific Subject

Abstract Climate Change is a widely debated scientific subject and Anthropogenic Global Warming is its main cause. Nevertheless, several authors have indicated solar activity and Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation variations may also influence Climate Change. This article considers the amplification of solar radiation’s and Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation’s variations, via sea ice cover albedo feedbacks in the Arctic regions, providing a conceptual advance in the application of Arctic Amplification for modelling historical climate change. A 1-dimensional physical model, using sunspot number count and Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation index as inputs, can simulate the average global temperature’s anomaly and the Arctic Sea Ice Extension for the past eight centuries. This model represents an innovative progress in understanding how existing studies on Arctic sea ice’s albedo feedbacks can help complementing the Anthropogenic Global Warming models, thus helping to define more precise models for future climate change.

scholarly journals Shifting surface

Novos Olhares ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-113
Author(s):  
Ansgar Fellendorf
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Spatial Reference ◽  
Visual Discourse ◽  
Change Effect ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Climate Change Effect ◽  
Policy Measures

This research explores how satellite images of Arctic sea ice contribute to climate change discourse. Different discourses require distinct responses. Policy measures are contingent upon representation, be it i.e. a threat or opportunity. The representations discussed are by the NSIDC and NASA, which hold a visual hegemony. First, the introduction discusses visual studies in policy research and identifies a simplified dichotomy of a threat discourse and environmental citizenship. Moreover, the methodology of visual discourse analysis based on poststructuralism is described. The delineated images portray a vertical, planar view allowing for spatial reference. Arctic sea ice is a visible climate change effect and the absence of boundaries, intervisuality with the Earthrise icon and focus on environmental effects support a discourse of citizenship.

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