Culture, Politics and Climate Change: How Information Shapes our Common Future - Softcover

This important new book explores the cultural politics of climate change. With dispatches from the front lines of diverse fields and geographies, the authors provide some of the first maps of this fast evolving landscape underlying some of the most important decisions humanity will make in the 21st century.

–Anthony Leiserowitz, Yale University, USA

Climate change is the most important environmental challenge we face yet there has been little political action to address the problem. This volume examines the reasons for inaction, by considering different cultural and ethical perspectives and how the media plays a role in translating and presenting scientific information. It provides the most comprehensive assessment available, by leading experts in the field.

–Raymond Bradley, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA

–Susanne Moser, Susanne Moser Research & Consulting, Stanford, USA

The only thing more complex than the climate system is the tangle of meanings we've wrapped around it. The varied perspectives gathered in this important book go a long way toward unsnarling the cultural politics of climate change―the first step in weaving the stories and policies we’ll need to move forward.

–Jean Goodwin, Iowa State University, USA

From citizens' perspectives over the 'old' and 'new' media all the way to politics and decision-making – Crow and Boykoff’s volume is an excellent example of a societal turn in the analysis of climate change, and deals with its most pressing issues.

–Mike Schafer, University of Zurich, Switzerland

"This book offers a breakthrough in moving the best academic talents toward speaking more plainly in their contributions to public information and decision-making. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." --F. T. Manheim, George Mason University, CHOICE Reviews, February 2015

Focusing on cultural values and norms as they are translated into politics and policy outcomes, this book presents a unique contribution in combining research from varied disciplines and from both the developed and developing world.

This collection draws from multiple perspectives to present an overview of the knowledge related to our current understanding of climate change politics and culture. It is divided into four sections – Culture and Values, Communication and Media, Politics and Policy, and Future Directions in Climate Politics Scholarship – each followed by a commentary from a key expert in the field. The book includes analysis of the challenges and opportunities for establishing successful communication on climate change among scientists, the media, policy-makers, and activists.

With an emphasis on the interrelation between social, cultural, and political aspects of climate change communication, this volume should be of interest to students and scholars of climate change, environment studies, environmental policy, communication, cultural studies, media studies, politics, sociology.