One in four Norwegians does not believe that human activity affects climate change, a new study shows. – It is startling that Norway stands out as the country with the most climate skeptics, says Professor Cathrine Holst and postdoctoral fellow Torbjørn Gundersen. They both work at the Department of Sociology and Social Geography at the University of Oslo, and are part of the EU-funded study PERITIA. Over 12,000 people participated in the survey. It was made in Norway, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom. In Norway, 61 per cent answered that they think people influence climate change and 15 per cent that they do not know. While 24 percent do not believe that human activity affects the climate. That equates to over 1.3 million climate skeptics. Here is an excerpt from a comment field on one of the climate issues news has written earlier this summer. The study was first mentioned by forskning.no. Difficult to explain Truls Tunby Kristiansen is an associate professor at the Department of Social Sciences at UiT – Norwegian Arctic University. He is also surprised by the figures, and points out that Norwegians generally have high confidence in research. – But confidence in research becomes lower when the conclusion of the research is that you have to sacrifice something, he says. Kristiansen believes that one of the reasons why Norway stands out may be that the economy is largely dependent on oil production. – We have a national self-image as a «good nation». Then it may be more difficult to accept that more and more people agree that the oil industry contributes to climate change, he says. Do you think climate change is man-made? Yes No I do not know Do not really care .. Show result Norwegians also score the lowest on the proportion who believe that climate change will have or have had consequences for the country or individuals. – Norwegian society has proven to be relatively well equipped to deal with climate change, and that can obviously be an explanation, says Kristiansen. But Norwegians are also the ones who care least about future changes in Norway and the world. – Why we do not to a greater extent relate to climate change as a common, global problem is a little more difficult to explain, says Kristiansen. The study also shows that we are least inclined to change behavior or provide some of our income, to contribute to measures that can prevent climate change. In addition, we are the worst at walking, cycling or traveling by public transport. The same applies to recycling and use of plastic products. Truls Tunby Kristiansen is surprised that Norway stands out, but is aware that things must be explored more thoroughly before one can say anything certain about why. Photo: UiT Norwegian Arctic University Norwegians care least about the future The survey is led by researchers from King’s College in London. The next step is to explain what lies behind the numbers. – It is difficult to imagine that the pattern among Norwegians has anything to do with our dependence on oil. People in Norway thus have no immediate interest in taking gloomy climate messages into account, says Gundersen. But he points out that they currently have no basis for explaining why Norway stands out on several points in this study. – We generally agree with experts in most areas, but not when it comes to research on climate change. This is something we have to look at more closely to find out, says Gundersen. According to Gundersen, the fact that Norway is a rich country may have something to do with the case. – We are well equipped to handle climate change in relation to the other countries in the survey. However, he is careful to speculate on what could be other causes, but believes there are a number of things that should be looked at more closely. – How are climate issues discussed in the public space? Maybe we talk about the climate in a different way in Norway than in other countries. There is one thing in particular he hopes to get an answer to. – We are not only least concerned for ourselves, but also for humanity and future generations. It is a very interesting discovery, says Gundersen. Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oslo Torbjørn Gundersen thinks the figures are startling. Photo: University of Oslo Controversial views Norwegians believe 67 percent of climate scientists have concluded that climate change occurs as a result of human activity. Here, Norway scores quite similarly to the other countries in the study. But the conclusion here is considerably different from what most people think: More than 99 percent of climate scientists have reached that conclusion. – It is so far not very surprising. It is quite common when it comes to controversial issues, says Kristiansen. He explains that controversial views are paid extra attention to. – Those who have a slightly different opinion often get extra attention, says Kristiansen. In this way, he believes, an incorrect picture is created of the balance in the debate. He also believes social media plays a big role. – The algorithms do their part to ensure that controversial content often goes viral, says Kristiansen.
ttn-69
Norwegians believe least in climate change – news Troms and Finnmark
