97% of Scientists Agree on Man-Made Nature of Global Warming but Public Opinion is at Odds

An international meta-study recently published in the Environmental Research Letters journal reveals an overwhelming agreement amongst scientists that man-made causes, primarily the use of fossil fuels, has caused the rising global temperatures that have been documented in recent decades. Though there are detractors, the study found out that 97% of scientists agree, but the dominant public opinion is that they do not.

The paper has been published in an open-access journal and clearly shows that human activity directly leads to global warming. Studies have dealt with the issue before, but this by far includes the most number of peer-reviewed papers by climate scientists from around the world. The study also reveals that there has been an increase in climate science papers published since the last decade.

Public opinion

Surveys were conducted in some countries and the opinion polls show that the public is widely divided. The public perception is that experts disagree on whether human activities or natural occurrences such as the natural swing of the output of the sun cause climate change. The US Pew Research Center published a survey in October 2012. When asked whether or not scientists agree on global warming due to human activity, 45% responded with “Yes” while 43% responded with “No.” This is now being considered as one major factor in the lack of public support.

A review of public opinion

The study was led by John Cook from the University of Queensland in Australia. Scientists from Britain, Canada, and the United States conducted the biggest review by far of scientific opinion pertaining to climate change. The researchers studied 11,944 summaries of English-language papers published in journals since the early Nineties. All of the papers written by around 29,000 scientists have been peer-reviewed and written between 1991 and 2011. The findings reveal that 97.1% say that global warming is mainly due to man-made activities. The researchers also asked authors for their opinion and found the same consensus.

Bridging the chasm

John Cook, the lead author, said that public understanding is critical in getting support for actionable policies. When people have a clear comprehension that there is a strong agreement among climate scientists, then it would be easier to get public support.

Dana Nuccitelli of Skeptical Science is one of the co-authors of the study. She said that scientists need to “stress the consensus” whenever the opportunity presents itself, and most especially during interviews with the media.

The media has probably contributed to the public misconception by ensuring that all stories with regard to climate change are balanced with the perspective of skeptics. Therefore, the public has come to believe that there is no consensus in the scientific community.

Global warming is real

Since the Industrial Revolution, the average global temperatures have increased by 0.8°C (1.4°F). Just last week, a milestone was reached when the concentrations of the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached the critical level of 400 ppm (parts per million). This is the highest level reached in almost three million years.

Photo Credit: Global Temperature Anomaly 1880-2012