Scientists protesting for the climate don't change much, study suggests

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-04-23 09:01

International

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New international research indicates that environmental scientists engaging in climate protests don't have much impact on public perception. Over 2800 adults representative of the US population read a 'newspaper article' reporting on a protest against offshore oil and gas drilling, and responded to a survey on their views. The respondents' support for activism and offshore drilling weren't affected by whether they thought scientists had joined or endorsed the protest; however, their perception of environmental scientists' credibility wasn't affected either. The researchers say this suggests scientists can protest climate causes without risking their credibility, but they might not have much influence on support for the cause.

Media release

From: The Royal Society

Scientists are increasingly joining climate protests to advocate for change, but how does this affect public opinion and trust in science? This study tested the impact of scientists' participation in protests on a representative US sample. Surprisingly, scientists’ involvement did not reduce public support for offshore drilling, views on activists, or perceptions of protests as extreme. Importantly, it also did not harm the credibility of the participating scientist or environmental scientists in general. These findings suggest that while protests don't harm scientists’ reputation, they might not, at least by themselves, significantly sway public opinion on climate issues either.

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Journal/
conference: Royal Society Open Science

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Amsterdam, University of California San Diego

Funder: No funding has been received for this article

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