No polarization–Expected Values of Climate Change Impacts among European Forest Professionals and Scientists

• The role of values in climate-related decision-making is a prominent theme of climatecommunication research. The present study examines whether forest professionals are more drivenby values than scientists are, and if this results in value polarization. A questionnaire was designedto elicit and assess the values assigned to expected effects of climate change by forest professionalsand scientists working on forests and climate change in Europe. The countries involved covered anorth-to-south and west-to-east gradient across Europe, representing a wide range of bio-climaticconditions and a mix of economic–social–political structures. We show that European forestprofessionals and scientists do not exhibit polarized expectations about the values of specific impactsof climate change on forests in their countries. In fact, few differences between forest professionalsand scientists were found. However, there are interesting differences in the expected values of orest professionals with regard to climate change impacts across European countries. In NorthernEuropean countries, the aggregated values of the expected effects are more neutral than they are inSouthern Europe, where they are more negative. Expectations about impacts on timber production,economic returns, and regulatory ecosystem services are mostly negative, while expectations aboutbiodiversity and energy production are mostly positive.

• The role of values in climate-related decision-making is a prominent theme of climate communication research. The present study examines whether forest professionals are more driven by values than scientists are, and if this results in value polarization. A questionnaire was designed to elicit and assess the values assigned to expected effects of climate change by forest professionals and scientists working on forests and climate change in Europe. The countries involved covered a north-to-south and west-to-east gradient across Europe, representing a wide range of bio-climatic conditions and a mix of economic–social–political structures. We show that European forest professionals and scientists do not exhibit polarized expectations about the values of specific impacts of climate change on forests in their countries. In fact, few differences between forest professionals and scientists were found. However, there are interesting differences in the expected values of forest professionals with regard to climate change impacts across European countries. In Northern European countries, the aggregated values of the expected effects are more neutral than they are in Southern Europe, where they are more negative. Expectations about impacts on timber production, economic returns, and regulatory ecosystem services are mostly negative, while expectations about biodiversity and energy production are mostly positive.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Klimatforskning (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Climate Research (hsv//eng)

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Lantbruksvetenskap, skogsbruk och fiske -- Skogsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -- Forest Science (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Climate change impacts

Decision-Making

risk perception

homogeneity of expected values

value polarization

strength of expected values

climate change impacts

decision-making

risk perception

homogeneity of expected values

value polarization

strength of expected values

Publikations- och innehållstyp

art (ämneskategori)

ref (ämneskategori)