Climate futures: Scientists' discourses on collapse versus transformation.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Psychology
• Climate Change Communication
• Sociology of Science

Background:

• The climate and ecological crisis presents a significant global challenge.
• Scientists' perspectives critically influence societal understanding and response to climate change.
• Understanding how scientists conceptualize the future is key to effective climate action.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how environmentally concerned scientists construct the future in the context of climate change.
• To analyze the discursive strategies scientists use to frame future scenarios.
• To explore the link between future constructions and proposed climate solutions.

Main Methods:

• Critical discursive psychology analysis.
• Qualitative study of 27 environmentally concerned scientists from 11 countries.
• Analysis of scientists' talk about the future and climate change.

Main Results:

• Scientists' constructions of the future range from predetermined to transformable.
• Fixed future framings align with doomist discourse, limiting perceived agency.
• Transformable future framings emphasize human agency, enabling diverse solutions like collective action and technological innovation.
• Discourses of social and ecological collapse were prevalent across the temporal spectrum.

Conclusions:

• Scientists' framing of the future significantly impacts the perceived urgency and scope of climate actions.
• Open future framings, emphasizing human agency, facilitate a broader range of actionable solutions.
• Scientists play a crucial role in shaping societal discourse and defining viable climate crisis responses.