We Have to Talk About…Climate Change

Abstract

The problems of climate change are widely denied. This chapter reports on research interviews with a group of mostly middle-class Londoners who all denied in diverse ways the need to mitigate climate change and defended their non-environmental behaviour. All participants had complex and ambivalent thoughts and feelings about climate change. While they all knew about climate change they negated their knowledge by disregarding their non-environmental behaviour, sometimes seeming to feel entitled to act in that way. Some disavowed their knowledge by resisting awareness, others treated facts as non-existent or irrelevant, others disclaimed responsibility. Many adopted several of these tactics. Early experiences had shaped the thoughts and feelings of participants. Environmental interest sometimes coincided with a strong childhood relationship with an environmentally minded parent or an attachment to a particular country area.