Oct 26, 2025 06:43 AM
https://www.sciencenorway.no/climate-cli...er/2567191
EXCERPTS: . . . Some get angry when politicians say people should fly less or eat less meat. "They perceive it as criticism of who they are," says Wilhelmsen.
Suddenly someone tells you to stop cooking the dishes you’ve always loved, or that oil rig workers should find another job. It can feel like a personal attack. "That's why climate issues so easily become tied to identity, to who we feel we are," she says.
Wilhelmsen adds that many sceptics also feel alone in their opinions. "Several have said they don't dare talk openly about climate at work because they're afraid of being laughed at or called stupid," she says.
Wilhelmsen says that some climate sceptics believe in conspiracies. For instance, some think the UN’s climate panel invents information about climate change, or that money from climate taxes ends up in the pockets of politicians and researchers.
There's no evidence for these claims. Still, Wilhelmsen believes it's important to listen to what these people have to say. "Because when you really listen to them, you realise there's often a lot behind their criticism. Criticism that's also completely understandable," she says.
Science Norway has written about carbon footprints before. The idea was to make you and me feel responsible for our emissions. But that idea came from an oil company that wanted people to focus on their own emissions rather than the company's. That kind of thing can make people lose trust in climate policies.
Wilhelmsen believes things could improve if we became better at tolerating disagreement. "We tend to surround ourselves with people who agree with us, so we're not used to being challenged," she explains.
The same thing happens on social media, where algorithms mostly show us what we already like and believe. "It almost makes us think that people who disagree with us are terrible," she says.
But disagreement can lead to valuable and necessary conversations. [...] Knut Ivar Karevold is a climate psychologist. He says that many of Wilhelmsen's findings match what he sees in his own work. "It's important to understand why people react differently to the climate problem, so we can find good solutions together," he says... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: . . . Some get angry when politicians say people should fly less or eat less meat. "They perceive it as criticism of who they are," says Wilhelmsen.
Suddenly someone tells you to stop cooking the dishes you’ve always loved, or that oil rig workers should find another job. It can feel like a personal attack. "That's why climate issues so easily become tied to identity, to who we feel we are," she says.
Wilhelmsen adds that many sceptics also feel alone in their opinions. "Several have said they don't dare talk openly about climate at work because they're afraid of being laughed at or called stupid," she says.
Wilhelmsen says that some climate sceptics believe in conspiracies. For instance, some think the UN’s climate panel invents information about climate change, or that money from climate taxes ends up in the pockets of politicians and researchers.
There's no evidence for these claims. Still, Wilhelmsen believes it's important to listen to what these people have to say. "Because when you really listen to them, you realise there's often a lot behind their criticism. Criticism that's also completely understandable," she says.
Science Norway has written about carbon footprints before. The idea was to make you and me feel responsible for our emissions. But that idea came from an oil company that wanted people to focus on their own emissions rather than the company's. That kind of thing can make people lose trust in climate policies.
Wilhelmsen believes things could improve if we became better at tolerating disagreement. "We tend to surround ourselves with people who agree with us, so we're not used to being challenged," she explains.
The same thing happens on social media, where algorithms mostly show us what we already like and believe. "It almost makes us think that people who disagree with us are terrible," she says.
But disagreement can lead to valuable and necessary conversations. [...] Knut Ivar Karevold is a climate psychologist. He says that many of Wilhelmsen's findings match what he sees in his own work. "It's important to understand why people react differently to the climate problem, so we can find good solutions together," he says... (MORE - missing details)
