On September 25 at Boston University, as part of a Howard Hughes Medical Institute-sponsored series organized by BU climate researcher David Marchant, I will be giving the following lecture, drawing on insights from two forthcoming papers. Below are details on the talk followed by references and links to the papers. Climate Advocacy in the Obama Years: Assessing Strategies for Societal Change Matthew C. Nisbet Northeastern University Sept 25 5pm-6pm Boston University Life Sciences Building, B-01 24 Cummington Mall This lecture evaluates the contrasting political strategies, communication approaches, and policy options pursued by U.S. advocacy groups, philanthropists, and their allies as they urge societal action to address climate change. Though these often competing networks of groups accept the undeniable, human causes of climate change, they each tend to emphasize a unique discourse about the problem, reflecting diverging views of society, nature, technology, policy, and politics. By reflecting on these differences and their implications, we can usefully think through the many ways that our own biases shape how we perceive the political conflict over climate change, who we blame, and what we prefer to be done. The goal is not to choose among competing perspectives, but to constructively grapple with their tensions and uncertainties. Through this process, we can hold our own convictions and opinions more lightly, identifying what is of value among the ideas offered by those on the left, right, and in the center. Nisbet, M.C. (in press). Disruptive Ideas: Public Intellectuals and their Arguments for Action on Climate Change. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change. http://climateshiftproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Nisbet_inpress_PublicIntellectualsClimateChange_WIREClimateChange.pdf Nisbet, M.C. (in press). Environmental Advocacy in the Obama Years: Assessing New Strategies for Political Change. In N. Vig & M. Kraft (Eds), Environmental Policy: New Directions for the Twenty-First Century, 9th Edition. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press. http://climateshiftproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Nisbet_inpress_EnvironmentalAdvocacyObamaYears_CQPress1.pdf

1. Climate Advocacy in the Obama Years:
Assessing Strategies for Societal Change
@MCNisbet
Matthew C. Nisbet
Associate Professor
Northeastern University

2. The Design to Win Report (2007)
o “A cap on carbon output—and an accompanying
market for emissions permits—will prompt a sea
change that washes over the entire global economy.”
o “The good news is that we already have the technology
and know-how to achieve these carbon reductions—
often at a cost savings.”
o “Climate change, unlike a lot of large-scale problems, is
actually one that is solvable. It is also one where we
know what we need to do. We have the best data in the
world on how to prevent climate change. Everything
was ranked by magnitude, location and sector. It’s a
systematic approach to problem solving.” – Hal Harvey,
NY Times profile
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5. This Changes Everything?
Capitalism vs. the Climate
“Our economic model is at war with life on
Earth. We can’t change the laws of nature,
but we can change our growth economy.
And that’s why climate change is not just a
disaster, it’s also our best chance to
demand and build a better world.”
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6. #PeoplesClimate vs. #PeoplesEnergy?
Energy Access and Decarbonization
Source: Clean Air Task Force @MCNisbet

7. #PeoplesClimate vs. #PeoplesEnergy?
Energy Access and Decarbonization
Shanghai 1990 v 2010 Dubai 1990 v 2007
http://weburbanist.com/2011/02/21/then-now-the-stunning-speed-of-urban-development/ @MCNisbet

8. #PeoplesClimate vs. #PeoplesEnergy?
Energy Access and Decarbonization
Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2013 @MCNisbet

9. #PeoplesClimate vs. #PeoplesEnergy?
Energy Access and Decarbonization
Source: New York Times & IEA @MCNisbet

10. Telling Stories about Wicked Problems
o The more complex a problem like climate
change, the more equally plausible
discourses and narratives exist about
what should be done.
o Climate change serves as an opportunity
for different groups to mobilize on behalf
of their values, goals and vision for
society.
o Climate change is “a synecdoche – a
figurative turn of phrase in which
something stands in for something
else—for something much more important
than simply the way humans are changing
the weather,” – Mike Hulme
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11. Models of science communication: How views of the science–society interface among social
scientists and practitioners have evolved over time.
Scheufele D A PNAS 2014;111:13585-13592
©2014 by National Academy of Sciences

12. Ideological Polarization and Fragmentation
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13. Ideological Polarization and Fragmentation
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14. @MCNisbet

15. @MCNisbet
Nisbet, M.C. & Markowitz, E. (in press). Expertise in an Age of Polarization: Evaluating Scientists’ Political Awareness and
Communication Behaviors. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

16. Framing Judgments and Decisions:
Market Failure & Carbon Pricing Problem?
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17. Framing Judgments and Decisions:
Innovation and Societal Resilience Problem?
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18. Who Is a Public Intellectual?
o 1) Write for and engage a broader public on matters of
popular concern, rather than narrowly targeting an expert
audience and emphasizing the more technical details of a
debate.
o 2) Specialize in the synthesis of complex, interdisciplinary
areas of research, engaging in deductive analysis across
cases and events, “working from the top down,” drawing
connections, making inferences, and offering judgments.
o 3) Argue on behalf of causes and policies, serving in the
role of social critic, advocate, or activist.
@MCNisbet Nisbet 2014

19. Personalities, Celebrities and Global Commodities
o Merge public and private selves by relating
complex ideas or problems to personal
anecdotes, “journeys,” “realizations.”
o Appearance, headshot, image, and dress are
likely to be consistent with the subject matter
they write about.
o Establish authenticity, commitment to a topic,
“walks the walk,” “practices what they preach”
or has acquired unique knowledge through
exceptional experiences.
o Most are commodities, in that their books,
writing, and speeches are bound up with a dense
web of promotion, selling, marketing, and
millions of dollars in transactions.
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20. Public Intellectuals and Wicked Problems:
Creating a Common Language and Outlook
o Promote a common storyline about climate change, defining who or
what is to blame, what should be done, and what action would mean for
the future.
o Discourses informally guide the decisions of advocates, funders,
@MCNisbet
journalists, and governmental officials.
o Define which experts or views might be mainstream versus what
might be contrarian or out of bounds.
o Once assumptions and authorities established, “costly in terms of
human mental labor to re-examine what has finally come to be
taken for granted.”
o Other public intellectuals are needed to “disturb the canonical peace”
and “defamiliarize the obvious” by identifying the flaws in
conventional wisdom and by offering alternative renderings of a
problem.

22. Universities and Disruptive Ideas
@MCNisbet
Nisbet, M.C., Hixon, M., Moore, K.D., & Nelson, M. (2010). The Four Cultures: New Synergies for Engaging Society on
Climate change. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 8, 329-331.

23. Further Reading
www.climateshiftproject.org/studies
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