A rose by any other name ...?: What members of the general public prefer to call “climate change”

Abstract

Unlike many other environmental problems, the terms used to describe the phenomenon of increasing atmospheric concentrations of anthropogenic greenhouse gases are many, with multiple and sometimes conflicting meanings. Whether there are meaningful distinctions in public perceptions of "global warming," "climate change," and "global climate change" has been a topic of research over the past decade. This study examines public preferences for these terms based on respondent characteristics, including climate change beliefs, political affiliation, and audience segment status derived from the "Global Warming's Six Americas" classification. Certainty of belief in global warming, political affiliation and audience segment status were found to be the strongest predictors of preference, although "I have no preference" was the modal response. Global warming appears to be a more polarizing term than climate change, preferred most by people already concerned about the issue, and least by people who don't believe climate change is occurring. Further research is needed to identify which of these two names promotes the engagement of people across the spectrum of climate change beliefs in constructive dialogue about the issue.

Public opinion on energy development: The interplay of issue framing, top-of-mind associations, and political ideology

“…For example, although the terms global warming and climate change are often treated as synonymous within public discourse, research suggests that they may elicit different audience responses (Akerlof and Maibach, 2011;Schuldt et al, 2011). In a recent survey of Americans, Leiserowitz et al (2014) found that respondents were more certain that global warming (versus climate change) was happening, perceived greater risks associated with it, and considered it a higher priority for federal lawmakers (see also Schuldt et al, in press).…”

The influence of temperature on #ClimateChange and #GlobalWarming discourses on Twitter

“…Predilections for climate change-related terms exist across different segments of the public, despite a large portion of people having no preference [Akerlof and Maibach, 2011]. "Global warming" was found to be more polarizing and preferred by those who believe climate change is occurring, while those who believe it was not occurring opted for "climate change."…”

Understanding Environmental Public Opinion by Dimension: How Heuristic Processing Mitigates High Information Costs on Complex Issues

“…It should also be noted that climate change is a complex scientific issue, which suffers from an inconsistent nomenclature. Akerlof and Maibach (2011) argue that in contrast to other environmental dimensions, the terms used to describe the increase of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere (e.g., climate change and global warming ) are many, and they sometimes conflict.…”