‘Sensemaking’ climate change: navigating policy, polarization and the culture wars
Abstract Climate action faces evolving challenges in industrialized, high-income countries, such as increased populist distrust in government institutions, growing polarization, and social contestation regarding types of climate policy. These challenges complexify timely mobilization of climate acti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
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| Series: | npj Climate Action |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-025-00240-7 |
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| _version_ | 1849728994155429888 |
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| author | Gail Hochachka Meghan Wise Wes Regan |
| author_facet | Gail Hochachka Meghan Wise Wes Regan |
| author_sort | Gail Hochachka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Climate action faces evolving challenges in industrialized, high-income countries, such as increased populist distrust in government institutions, growing polarization, and social contestation regarding types of climate policy. These challenges complexify timely mobilization of climate action, compromising current and future climate investment and policies. Here, we investigate the nuances of ‘sensemaking’, resistance, and polarization in regard to climate change to better understand climate-action barriers in British Columbia, Canada. Through a series of focus groups, leading climate actors from multiple sectors co-produced knowledge on current psycho-social challenges encountered when engaging publics on climate change. Findings explore how emotions about climate transitions are leveraged by disinformation messaging, obscuring an already complicated sensemaking task regarding climate change and contributing to opposition against climate policies and action. The study’s implications are relevant to climate change-related policy creation, communication, and public engagement. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-aa0f510226cf42afaf345ffd2d0a8d9b |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2731-9814 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Climate Action |
| spelling | doaj-art-aa0f510226cf42afaf345ffd2d0a8d9b2025-08-20T03:09:21ZengNature Portfolionpj Climate Action2731-98142025-05-014111110.1038/s44168-025-00240-7‘Sensemaking’ climate change: navigating policy, polarization and the culture warsGail Hochachka0Meghan Wise1Wes Regan2Department of Wood Science, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Office 2223, 2424 Main MallClimate Action Coordinator, Municipal Government, Department of Climate Action and EnvironmentSchool of Community and Regional Planning, University of British ColumbiaAbstract Climate action faces evolving challenges in industrialized, high-income countries, such as increased populist distrust in government institutions, growing polarization, and social contestation regarding types of climate policy. These challenges complexify timely mobilization of climate action, compromising current and future climate investment and policies. Here, we investigate the nuances of ‘sensemaking’, resistance, and polarization in regard to climate change to better understand climate-action barriers in British Columbia, Canada. Through a series of focus groups, leading climate actors from multiple sectors co-produced knowledge on current psycho-social challenges encountered when engaging publics on climate change. Findings explore how emotions about climate transitions are leveraged by disinformation messaging, obscuring an already complicated sensemaking task regarding climate change and contributing to opposition against climate policies and action. The study’s implications are relevant to climate change-related policy creation, communication, and public engagement.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-025-00240-7 |
| spellingShingle | Gail Hochachka Meghan Wise Wes Regan ‘Sensemaking’ climate change: navigating policy, polarization and the culture wars npj Climate Action |
| title | ‘Sensemaking’ climate change: navigating policy, polarization and the culture wars |
| title_full | ‘Sensemaking’ climate change: navigating policy, polarization and the culture wars |
| title_fullStr | ‘Sensemaking’ climate change: navigating policy, polarization and the culture wars |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Sensemaking’ climate change: navigating policy, polarization and the culture wars |
| title_short | ‘Sensemaking’ climate change: navigating policy, polarization and the culture wars |
| title_sort | sensemaking climate change navigating policy polarization and the culture wars |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-025-00240-7 |
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