Climate change isn’t something new. It’s been here for decades and with the increased awareness of climate change there has also been an evident wave of denial and general disdain towards this notion. In this piece I not only want to delve into the basic reasons for this denial but also the depth of the psychology behind their thinking.
One of the most common reasons is illiteracy, but there are so many more reasons which include the fact that climate change sometimes clashes with the a community’s understand of the world and shatters this bubble they live in and then come the disruption or the counter effects to some big names if we transition to a low emissions economy. Borderline, it rubs them the wrong way and it is plainly inconvenient to their world view. The difference presented in psychological terms from sheer ignorance and misunderstanding is the fact that people don’t want to revise their beliefs, they are presented with facts which don’t align with their thinking and the immediate response is to reason around these cold hard facts.
According to research the society in grained hierarchy and status quo also plays a huge role, older, poorer and more religious people are more likely to see this all as a sham. Even one’s political allegiance plays a huge factor into this. It is a dismal situation as it is a repression of facts. Taking a look at the US we can see people heavily influenced by puritanical values similarly in Pakistan has had extreme effects such as increase in temperature and general unnatural climatic patterns however most people have described anthropogenic global heating as the will of God and were generally unaware or resistant.
Although Pakistan has increased awareness through extensive reforestation programs and plans like the Clean, Green Pakistan movement however this is not enough. We need to approach the issue keeping in mind the social and psychological factors. We need to diversify to reach all groups of society, one pitch with the same rehashed facts won’t work, it needs to appeal to them, more effort needs to be put into understanding. The deniers can shift their views, sometimes a simple bombardment of facts isn’t the greatest help. The actual difference can be made by the people. It is a democracy after all.
Muhammad Haad
LAHORE
