Future Climate Narratives: Combining Personal and Professional Knowledge to Adapt to Climate Change

Abstract

Ready access to scientific climate knowledge is important to inform climate change mitigation and adaptation planning. In addition, decision-makers use social and cultural understandings to evaluate what is plausible, possible, and desirable in the future. This study considered in what way do personal factors influence the incorporation of climate change knowledge in adaptation decisions. Professionals who work with climate knowledge were interviewed regarding their personal discussions and planning, focused on adaptation to climate change. Typological analysis concentrated on participants’ relative attention to Future Thinking, Climate Knowledge, and Narrative Communication. Despite professional application of climate knowledge, the majority of participants found it challenging to imagine future societies situated in future climates, especially those who did not consider themselves at risk, or who found it difficult to discuss projected climate change impacts. This indicates that personal differences such as subjective assessments of climate risk and adaptive capacity, as well as relative engagement in future thinking, affect climate adaptation decision-making that may impact the wider society over time.