Twitter #KlimaChatInspiring #KlimaChat with CSS members Stefan Aykut, Anita Engels, Felix Schenuit and klimafakten.de

13 January 2021, by CSS

Photo: Chris J. Davis on unsplash

Exactly one week ago, on 6 January 2021, a Twitter #KlimaChat took place as a cooperation between the science platform klimafakten.de and the Center for Sustainable Society Research. CSS members Stefan Aykut, Anita Engels and Felix Schenuit entered into the discussion with the Twitter community and shared their knowledge and opinions. The event generated a lot of interest, and participants used the opportunity to ask their questions concerning the social aspects of climate change, for example on governance issues, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on climate goals, or the role of scientists in climate communication.

The questions were posted by people with a variety of backgrounds - from climate activist to MEP. The questions were answered by concise statements that were frequently accompanied by references to relevant research literature or newspaper articles for further reading. You can read up on all the questions and answers bei searching #KlimaChat on Twitter or see below for an example discussion between Stefan Aykut, Anita Engels and Thomas Friedrich (@klimasozial) from ISOE (translation by CSS):

Question: What positive lessons for effectively addressing the climate crisis can be drawn from the societal, political and social handling of the pandemic?

Answer: In cases of crisis (life and death), anything is possible. Climate change is still not perceived that way. COVID-19 also shows: it depends on the perceived horror. Numbers are currently much higher than in the spring, but the 'blunting effect' has set in (see for example article by Sabine Hoscislawski on die-debatte.org).

Follow up question: So is 'alarmism' after all the best strategy to counteract habituation effects in the climate crisis? Or what effective alternatives are there to maintain awareness of the urgency while not contributing to polarisation?

Answer: 'Alarmism' is not enough to create change in the long run. Compared to climate, corona is a sprint & even here 'corona fatigue' is showing. It is important that measures are perceived as justified & equitable, as well as active involvement.
Decarbonisation is more of a marathon. What may be learned from Corona, however, is 1/ that the state & politics can manage if they want to 2/ that crises can unleash political imagination 3/ how important it is to bring society along.

Reading suggestion from klimafakten.de: You can find an overview text on so called 'alarmism' here [in German]. In general, a good way to reduce the psychological distance to the topic is to address climate change in the immediate vicinity of the people.

Thanks again to all participants and questioners! Watch out for the next #KlimaChat on Twitter @klimafakten.

You can follow the CSS on Twitter: @CssUhh

Find out more about the experts:

• Stefan C. Aykut (@StefanAykut), professor of sociology, especially ecological crises and conflicts and executive director of the CSS. Works on the global climate negotiations and global climate conflicts, as well as on the social debate on 'energy turnarounds', especially in Germany and France.
• Anita Engels (@Engels_Klima), professor of sociology and co-spokesperson of the CLICCS cluster of excellence "Climate, Climatic Change and Society". As a member of the Climate Protection Science Platform, she advises the German Federal Government. Her expertise relates to corporate strategies, especially in emissions trading, and to ways of creating an active societal support for climate policy.
• Felix Schenuit (@FelixSchenuit), political scientist at the Cluster of Excellence CLICCS, researches EU climate policy and follows the current political processes regarding the EU Climate Protection Act and the EU Green Deal. His work focuses on climate neutrality targets and the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere.

The science platform klimafakten.de deals with questions and objections to climate research via in depth fact checking, among other things. But facts alone do not make for communication. And communication is not yet climate protection. For knowledge to become action, exchange and debate are needed. Another focus of the work of klimafakten.de is therefore to develop new ways and ideas for the social debate on climate change and climate protection.