Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T16:47:34.189Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Understanding and responding to the climate change issue: Towards a whole-of-science research agenda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Charmine EJ Härtel  and
Graeme I Pearman
Charmine EJ Härtel
Affiliation:
UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD, Australia
Graeme I Pearman
Affiliation:
Graeme Pearman Consulting Pty Ltd and Monash University, Clayton VIC, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Much of human behavior and the very fabric of our economies and culture relate to the nature of our climate, its regularity/variability and severity. Climate change should therefore be a central field of inquiry in the social, behavioral and organizational sciences generally. This is especially so given that much of the observed and current climate change is attributed with a high degree of confidence to human activities and further change is anticipated. Whilst historically biophysical research has tended to dominate attention to the climate-change issue, there is an emerging literature examining laypeople's environment-related knowledge structures and the changes in attitudes, beliefs and behaviors required to effectively implement responses to the issues raised by the physical sciences. However, there are limitations in this literature, particularly regarding how scientists themselves engage with and capture emerging knowledge related to the issue. Although there is a broad consensus that the environmental problems we are experiencing are essentially social, organizational and behavioral problems, insufficient attention has been given to the issue of how to cultivate a cross disciplinary approach to address what is a complex and systemic problem (Cash et al., 2006). This article seeks to bring that issue into focus and offers a whole-of-science agenda for climate-change related research. It is essential that social, behavioral and organizational scientists accept greater responsibility for helping to address and facilitate the social, attitudinal, behavioral and management changes required to ameliorate and respond to the environmental deterioration identified by research in the physical sciences. The need for further and ongoing multi-disciplinary and international research is both necessary and pressing. Moreover, it is an ethical and practical responsibility that individuals of all scientific persuasions cannot afford to shirk.

Keywords

environmental deteriorationanthropogenic interferenceclimate change researchsocial, organizational and behavioral sciencebiophysical sciencewhole-of-science agendaattitudinal change
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , March 2010 , pp. 16 - 47
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

1

The first author completed part of this work while employed as Professor and Director of the Social and Economic Interface Research Network (SEIRnet) in the Department of Management at Monash University, Clayton, VIC Australia

References

ACIA (2004) Impacts of a warming Arctic. Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Adger, N.W., Dessai, S., Goulden, M., Hulme, M., Lorenzoni, I., Nelson, D.R., Naess, L.O., Wolf, J. and Wreford, A. (2009) ‘Are there social limits to adaptation to climate change?’ Climatic Change 93: 335–354.Google Scholar
Ainsley, P. (2008) ‘Education and climate change-some systemic connections’. British Journal of Sociology and Education 29(2): 213–223.Google Scholar
Allen Consulting (2005) Climate change risk and vulnerability. Promoting and efficient adaptation response in Australia. Report for the Australian Greenhouse Office. http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/impacts/publications/pubs/risk-vulnerability-summary.pdf.Google Scholar
Alphen, Klaas vanet al. (2007) ‘Societal acceptance of carbon capture and storage technologies’. Energy Policy 35: 4368–4380.Google Scholar
AGO: Australian Greenhouse Office (2003) Community perceptions of climate change: A report on benchmark research. Colmar and Brunton Social Research & Redsuit Advertising for the Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra ACT.Google Scholar
AUCC (2008) Australian Universities Climate Consortium http://www.monash.edu.au/research/climate/ucc/retrieved 9/11/08.Google Scholar
Bechtel, R. and Churchman, A. (eds.) (2002) Handbook of environmental psychology. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Brenton, S. (1996) ‘Thinking locally and acting globally: Environmental behavior, attitudes, activism’. Journal of Environmental Management 47: 27–36.Google Scholar
Broadhead, L. and Howard, S. (2009) ‘Deepening the debate over sustainable science: Indigenous perspectives as a guide on the journey’. Sustainable Development. Articles online in advance of print: 15 Jun 2009. www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122453237Google Scholar
Brody, S., Zahran, S., Vedlitz, A. and Grove, H. (2008) ‘Examining the relationship between physical vulnerability and public perception of global climate change in the United States’. Environment and Behavior 40(1): 72–95.Google Scholar
Cash, D. W., Adger, W., Berkes, F., Garden, P., Lebel, L., Olsson, P., Pritchard, L. and Young, O. (2006) ‘Scale and cross-scale dynamics: Governance and information in a multilevel world’. Ecology and Society 1.2:8http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss2/art8/Google Scholar
Clark, W., Jaeger, J., Eijndhoven, V. and Dickson, N. (eds.) (2001) Learning to manage global environmental risks — Vol. 1: A comparative history of social responses to climate change, ozone depletion and acid rain. Boston: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Clark, W., Jaeger, J., Eijndhoven, V. and Dickson, N. (eds.) (2001) Learning to manage global environmental risks — Vol. 2. A functional analysis of social responses to climate change, ozone depletion and acid rain. Boston: MIT Press. CleanOcean: http://cleanocean.org/ retrieved 5/11/08.Google Scholar
Collins, C., Steg, L. and Koning, M. (2007) ‘Customers' values, beliefs on sustainable corporate performance, and buying behavior’. Psychology and Marketing 24(6): 555–577.Google Scholar
CPRS (2008) Carbon pollution reduction scheme: Australia's low pollution future White paper released by the Australian Government, 12 15, 2008. http://www.climatechange.gov.au/whitepaper/index.html.Google Scholar
CSIRO and BoM (2007) Climate change in Australia, CSIRO and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Technical Report; available at: www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.auGoogle Scholar
Dean, J. and Bush, R. (2007) ‘A community psychology view of environmental organization processes’. Community Psychology 40: 146–166.Google Scholar
De Corinck, H. (2008) ‘Interview: Heleen de Cornick.’ Tiempo 70: 20–22. http://www.tiempocyberclimate.org/portal/archive/pdf/tiempo70high.pdf.Google Scholar
DEFRA (2008) A framework for pro-environmental behaviors. Report to Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK Government. www.defra.gov.uk.Google Scholar
Dupont, A. and Pearman, G. (2007) Heating up the planet: Climate change and security, Lowy Institute Paper 12; Lowy Institute, Sydney.Google Scholar
Edney, J. (1980) ‘The commons problem; alternative perspectives’. American Psychologist 35: 131–150.Google Scholar
EMA (2001+) Milliennium Ecosystem Assessment incorporating 5 technical volumes and 6 synthesis reports, provides a state-of-the-art scientific appraisal of the condition and trends in the world's ecosystems and the services they provide (such as clean water, food, forest products, flood control, and natural resources) and the options to restore, conserve or enhance the sustainable use of ecosystems. http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/About.aspx.Google Scholar
Fischhoff, B. and Morgan, M.G. (2009) ‘The science and practice of risk ranking’. Horizons 10(3): 40–47.Google Scholar
Flannery, T. (2006) We are the weather makers: The story of global warming. Melbourne: Text Publishing.Google Scholar
Garnaut, R. (2008) The Garnaut climate change report. Final Report. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://www.garnautreview.org.au/index.htm.Google Scholar
Geller, E., Winett, R. and Everett, P. (1982) Preserving the environment: New strategies for behavior change. New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Gelbspan, R. (2004) Boiling point: How politicians, big oil and coal, journalists and activists, are fuelling the climate crisis — and what we can do to avert disaster. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Grankvist, G. and Biel, A. (2007) ‘The impact of environmental information on professional purchasers’ choice of products’. Business Strategy and the Environment 16: 421–429.Google Scholar
Grothmann, T. and Patt, A. (2005) ‘Adaptive capacity and human cognition: The process of individual adaptation to climate change’. Global Environmental Change 15(3): 199–213.Google Scholar
Gudmusson, H. and Hojer, M. (1996) ‘Sustainable development principles and their implications for transport’. Ecological Economics 19: 269–282.Google Scholar
Hansen, J.et al. (2007) ‘Dangerous human-made interference with climate: a GISS modelIE study’. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 7: 2287–2312.Google Scholar
Hansla, A., Gamble, A., Juliusson, A. and Gärling, T. (2008) ‘The relationship between awareness of consequence, environmental concern, and value orientations’. Journal of Environmental Psychology 28: 1–9.Google Scholar
Hardin, G. (1968) ‘The tragedy of the commons’. Science 162: 1243–1248.Google Scholar
Hartig, T., Kaiser, F. and Strumse, E. (2007) ‘Psychological restoration in nature as a source of motivation for ecological behavior’. Environmental Conservation 34(4): 291–299.Google Scholar
Hays, J., Imbrie, J. and Shackleton, N. (1976) ‘Variations in the Earth's orbit: pacemaker of the ice ages’. Science 194: 1121–1132.Google Scholar
Heath, J. (2008) ‘Business ethics and moral motivation: A criminological perspective’. Journal of Business Ethics 83: 595–614.Google Scholar
Hogarth, R.M. (2001) Educating Intuition. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
IEA (2005) International Energy Agency. World energy outlook: Middle East and North Africa insights. Paris: IEA. http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2005/weo2005.pdfGoogle Scholar
IPCC (2000) Special report on emission scenarios. (Nakicenovic, N.et al. eds.). A special report of Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environment Programme. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
IPCC (2007a) Climate change 2007. The physical science basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. (Solomon, S.et al. eds.) Cambridge UK, New York: Cambridge University Press; http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg1.htm.Google Scholar
IPCC (2007b) Climate change 2007. Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. Cambridge UK, New York: Cambridge University Press; http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg2.htm.Google Scholar
IPCC (2007c) Climate change 2007. Mitigation of climate change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. (Metz, B.et al. eds.) Cambridge UK, New York: Cambridge University Press; http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg3.htm.Google Scholar
IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007. Syntheses report. IPCC Working Groups I, II and III. Core Writing Team R. Pachauri and A. Reisinger, Geneva: IPCC; http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-syr.htm.Google Scholar
IMF (2004) World economic outlook. Washington DC: International Monetary Fund.Google Scholar
Kaminski, G. (1976) Umweltpsychologie: Perpsektive, Probleme, Praxis. [Environmental psychology: Perspectives, problems and practice.] Stuttgart: Klett.Google Scholar
Ingham, A., Mia, J. and Ulph, A. (2007) ‘Climate change, mitigation and adaptation with uncertainty and learning’. Energy Policy 35: 5354–5369.Google Scholar
Jennaway, M. (2008) Apocalypse on you! Millenarian frenzy in debates on global warming’. The Australian Journal of Anthropology 19(1): 68–73.Google Scholar
Leary, N., Conde, C., Kulkarni, J., Nyong, A. and Pulhin, J. (eds.) (2008a) Climate change and vulnerability. London: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Leary, N., Adejuwon, J., Barros, V., Burton, I., Julkarni, J. and Lasco, R. (eds.) (2008b) Climate change and adaptation. London: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Leahy, T. (2008) ‘Global warming and sociology’. Current Sociology 53(3): 475–484.Google Scholar
Levy, D.L. and Egan, D. (2003) ‘A Neo-Gramscian approach to corporate political strategy: Conflict and accommodation in the climate change negotiations’. Journal of Management Studies 40(4): 803–829.Google Scholar
Lorenzoni, I., Pidgeon, N. and O'Connor, R. (2005) ‘Dangerous climate change: The role of risk research’. Risk Analysis 25: 1387–1398.Google Scholar
Lovelock, J. (2006) The revenge of Gaia: Why the Earth is fighting back — and how we can still save humanity. Santa Barbara CA: Allen Lane.Google Scholar
Lowe, I. (2007) ‘Reaction time: Climate change and the nuclear option’. Quarterly Essay 27: 1–88.Google Scholar
Major, D. and Frederick, K. (1997) ‘Water resources planning and climate change assessment methods’. Climatic Change 37(1): 25–40.Google Scholar
Major, D., Frederick, K. and Stakhiv, E. (eds.) (1997) Climate change and water resources planning criteria. Norwell MA: Kluwer Academic.Google Scholar
McKinsey, (2008) An Australian cost curve for greenhouse gas reduction, Sydney: McKinsey; http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/ccsi/pdf/Australian_Cost_Curve_for_GHG_Reduction.pdfGoogle Scholar
Monbiot, G. (2007) Heat: How we can stop the planet burning. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
O'Connor, R.E., Bord, R.J. and Fisher, A. (1999) ‘Risk perceptions, general environmental beliefs, and willingness to address climate change’. Journal Risk Analysis 19(3): 461–471.Google Scholar
Olander, F. and Thogerson, J. (1995) ‘Understanding of consumer behavior as a prerequisite for environmental protection’. Journal of Consumer Policy 18: 345–385.Google Scholar
Ostrum, E. (1990) Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Overpeck, J. (1995) ‘Paleoclimatology and climate system dynamics’. Rev. Geophys. 33 (Suppl.): 863–871.Google Scholar
Parry, M., Arnell, N., McMichael, T., Nicholls, R., Martens, P., Kovats, S., Livermore, M., Rosenzweig, C., Iglesias, A. and Fischer, G. (2001) ‘Millions at Risk: Defining Critical Climate Change Threats and Targets’. Global Environmental Change 11(3): 181–183.Google Scholar
Pearce, F. (2002) Global warming: A beginner's guide to our changing climate. New York: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Pearman, G.I. (2007) ‘Warming up: What we know about climate change’. In: Climate change: Getting it right. CEDA Growth 59. Sydney: Committee for Economic Development of Australia, pp. 16–23.Google Scholar
Pearman, G.I. (2008) ‘Climate change: Risk in Australia under alternative emissions futures’. Part of Australian Department of Treasury study: Climate Change impacts and risk: Modelling of the macroeconomic, sectoral and distributional implications of long-term greenhouse-gas emissions reduction in Australia, Australian Federal Treasury. Available at: http://www.treasury.gov.au/lowpollutionfuture/consultants_report/downloads/Risk_in_Australia_under_alternative_emissions_futures.pdft.Google Scholar
Pearman, G.I. (2009) ‘Climate change and security: Why this is on the agenda and should be’. Proceedings of the conference, Climate change and security: Planning for the future, Wellington, 11 14, 2008. Policy Quarterly, in press.Google Scholar
Plass, G. (1956) ‘The carbon dioxide theory of climatic change’. Tellus 8: 140–153.Google Scholar
Rahmstorf, S., Cazenave, A.Church, J.Hansen, J., Keeling, R.Parker, D. and Somerville, R. (2007) ‘Recent climate observations compared to projections’. Science 316(5825): 709; DOI: 10.1126/science.1136843.Google Scholar
Raupach, M., Canadell, J. and Le Quéré, C. (2008) ‘Anthropogenic and biophysical contributions to increasing atmospheric CO2 growth rate and airborne fraction’. Biogeosciences 5: 1601–1613.Google Scholar
Redclift, M. and Woodgate, G. (1997) The international handbook of environmental sociology. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Reser, J. (2008) ‘Environmental psychology: An endangered species?’ InPsych 08 18-19.Google Scholar
Sanne, C. (2002) ‘Willing consumers – or locked in? Policies for sustainable consumption’. Ecological Economics 42: 273–287.Google Scholar
Schelling, T. (1992) ‘Some economics of global warming’. American Economic Review. 03.Google Scholar
Schelling, T. (1991) ‘Economic responses to global warming: prospects for cooperative approaches’, in: Dornbush, R. & Poterba, J. eds., Global warming: economic policy responses. Boston: MIT Press, 1991.Google Scholar
Scheraga, J. and Grampsch, A. (1998) ‘Risks, opportunities, and adaptation to climate change’. Climate Research 10: 85–95.Google Scholar
Schipper, L. (1997) ‘Carbon emissions from travel on the OECD countries’. Stern, P.Environmentally significant consumption; research practices. Washington DC: National Academic Press, pp. 50–62.Google Scholar
SSCC (2008) Social science of climate change initiated by the US Social Science Research Council. http://www.ssrc.org/environment/climate/retrieved 7/11/08.Google Scholar
Stern, P. (1992) ‘Psychological dimensions of global environmental change’. Annual Review of Psychology 43: 269–302.Google Scholar
Stern, N. (2006) The economics of climate change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/stern_review_report.htm.Google Scholar
Stokols, D. and Altman, I. (1987) Handbook of environmental psychology. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Stokols, D. (1995) ‘The paradox of environmental psychology’. American Psychologist 50: 821–837.Google Scholar
Tarrantand, M. and Cordell, K. (1997) ‘The effect of respondent characteristics on general environmental attitude-behavior correspondence’, Environment and Behavior 29(5): 618–637.Google Scholar
Tindall, J. (1861) ‘On the absorption and radiation of heat by gases and vapours, and on physical connexion of radiation, absorption and conduction. Philosoph. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. 151: 1–36.Google Scholar
Toussaint, S. (2009) ‘Climate change, global warming and too much sorry business’. The Australian Journal of Anthropology 19(1): 84–88.Google Scholar
Tjernström, E. and Tietenberg, T. (2008) ‘Do differences in attitudes explain differences in national climate change policies?’ Ecological Economics 65(2): 315–324.Google Scholar
UNDP Report (2005) United Nations Development Program. A Time for Bold Ambition: Together We Can Cut Poverty in Half; New York: United Nations; available at http://www.undp.org/annualreports/2005/english/IAR05-English.pdfGoogle Scholar
UNEP Report (2006) United Nations Environment Program. AEO: Africa Environment Outlook. Nairobi, Kenya: UNEP & London: Earthscan, (2006).Google Scholar
Uzzell, D. (2008) Challenging assumptions in the psychology of climate change. InPsych 30(4): 10–13.Google Scholar
Vlek, C. (1996) ‘Collective risk generation and risk management; the unexploited potential of the social dilemmas paradigm. Liebrand, W. & Massick, D. (eds.). Frontiers in Social Dilemmas Research. New York: Springer Verlag, pp. 11–38.Google Scholar
Vlek, C. and Steg, L. (2007) ‘Human behavior and environmental sustainaibility: Problems, driving forces and research topics’. Journal of Social Issues 63(1): 1–19.Google Scholar
Weber, E. (1997) ‘Perception and expectation of climate change: precondition for economic & technological adaptation’. In Environment, Ethics & Behavior, Bazerman, M.et al. (eds.) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 314–341.Google Scholar
Wholwill, J. (1970) ‘The emerging discipline of environmental psychology’. American Psychologist 25: 303–312.Google Scholar
WMO (1986) ‘The roles of carbon dioxide and other ‘greenhouse’ gases in climatic variation and associated impacts’. Conference statement for the Second Joint UNEP/WMO/ICSUInternational conference on the assessment of the role of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in climate variations and associated impacts, Villach, Austria, 10 1985, WMO Bulletin 35: 130–134.Google Scholar
WWF (2008) Weathercocks and signposts. The environment movement at a crossroads. World Wildlife Fund for Nature, UK. Available at www.wwf.org.uk/strategiesforchange (2008).Google Scholar
YWYS (2008) YourWaterYourSay action group (now WaterShed) http://www.yourwateryoursay.org/category/fact-sheets/ retrieved 5/11/08.Google Scholar