Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
Name	Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
Formation	2008
Type	Research center
Headquarters	New Haven, Connecticut
Leader title	Director
Leader name	Anthony Leiserowitz
Parent organization	Yale University

Contents

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication conducts survey research on public attitudes toward climate change and climate-related behavior, operating from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded by Anthony Leiserowitz with institutional ties to Yale School of the Environment and collaborations across Columbia University, George Mason University, and University of California, Berkeley, the program informs journalists, policymakers, and advocacy groups including Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club. Its work has been cited by international bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and reported by outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and BBC News.

History and mission

The program was established in 2008 by Anthony Leiserowitz and colleagues amid growing public debate following the 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations in Bali Conference of 2007. Its mission aligns with institutions such as Yale School of the Environment and the Yale Center for Environmental Justice to measure attitudes across constituencies including voters in United States presidential elections, residents of states like California, Texas, and Florida, and publics in countries represented at the Conference of the Parties. The program aims to bridge academic research exemplified by scholars at Harvard University, Stanford University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology with stakeholders including United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, and European Commission.

The program conducts large-scale surveys, longitudinal panels, and experimental studies using methods comparable to those at Pew Research Center, Gallup, and NORC at the University of Chicago. Research areas include public risk perception studied in relation to extreme events such as Hurricane Katrina, Typhoon Haiyan, and California wildfires; policy support for mechanisms like Clean Air Act-style regulation, Paris Agreement commitments, and market instruments referenced by World Trade Organization negotiations; and communications framing tested against outlets like CNN, Fox News, and The Guardian. Methodologies integrate quantitative techniques from the American Association for Public Opinion Research standards, geospatial analysis using tools employed by Esri, and experimental designs akin to those at National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Major publications document public segmentation models that identify groups similar to typologies used by Pew Research Center and behavioral clusters observed in studies from Columbia University. Findings show partisan differences resonant with research on Republican Party (United States) and Democratic Party (United States), regional variation consistent with studies in Midwest United States and Northeast United States, and demographic correlates comparable to work at University of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania. The program’s Global Polls align with datasets from World Values Survey and reveal cross-national patterns discussed at United Nations Climate Change Conferences, while studies on media framing intersect with scholarship on Washington Post coverage and narratives advanced by National Public Radio.

The program provides tools and visualizations used by communicators at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and advocacy groups like 350.org and Greenpeace. Outreach includes briefings for legislators from United States Congress, training workshops with spokespeople from American Petroleum Institute and renewable energy firms such as Tesla, Inc., and collaborative events with museums like the American Museum of Natural History and universities including University of Oxford and University of Cambridge. Their maps and dashboards have been embedded in stories by Reuters, Associated Press, and Al Jazeera.

Funding sources have included philanthropic organizations like the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, as well as research partnerships with academic centers at Columbia University and international collaborations with University of Melbourne and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Grants have been awarded in competition with agencies such as the National Science Foundation and foundations associated with Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Ford Foundation, and the program has provided data to multinational initiatives including the World Bank and United Nations Development Programme.

Research from the program has informed testimony before committees of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, briefings at the White House and the European Parliament, and contributed evidence cited in reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and policy analyses from think tanks like Brookings Institution and Resources for the Future. Media coverage across outlets such as The New Yorker, Bloomberg, and Financial Times has disseminated the program’s findings, while advocacy organizations including League of Conservation Voters and Citizens' Climate Lobby have used its public-opinion maps in campaigns around instruments like carbon pricing and legislative proposals comparable to the Green New Deal.

Category:Climate communication Category:Yale University