Abstract

Just as there are many different purposes and roles of science in society, so there are many different roles that scientists can adopt in relation to the science they produce. In this talk I will explore four of these roles—analyst, advisor, advocate, activist—in relation to climate change. At different times, and for different reasons, scientists may adopt different roles, but it is important to be explicit and honest for your audience about which role you are adopting. Different roles express different understandings of the relationship between ‘facts’ and ‘values’, and expose scientists to different risks to their public status and credibility. Beyond scientists’ roles in relation to the science they create, scientists may also adopt the broader mantles of citizens, educators, public intellectuals and change agents. The talk will illustrate using examples drawn from climate science, climate policy advice, and climate activism. For answering the big questions prompted by climate change, we also need to ask why does science matter and whether climate scientists have any special privilege in societal debates climate and, if so, what sort of privilege is it.

Biography

Mike Hulme is professor of human geography at the University of Cambridge. His work illuminates the numerous ways in which the idea of climate change is deployed in public, political, religious and scientific discourse. He is the author of 12 books on climate change including, most recently, Climate Change Isn’t Everything (Polity, 2023). He is the author of the widely acclaimed Why We Disagree About Climate Change (Cambridge University Press, 2009), was Editor-in-Chief of the review journal WIREs Climate Change from 2008-2022, and from 2000 to 2007 was the Founding Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.