Despite what it may look like on X, a majority of U.S. adults trust what scientists say about the environment.
That trust, however, may be shaky. According to research by the Political Psychology Research Group at Stanford University, the percentage of Americans who say they trust scientists on the environment has declined to 67% this year from 75% in 2020. In 2023, the Pew Research Center found that U.S. adults rated climate scientists’ understanding of the causes and solutions lower than in 2021.
Decarbonizing the global economy is an enormous challenge and arguments against clean energy and electric vehicles have shown already how distrust can derail climate solutions — or at least hinder a speedy rollout. The issue of public trust is particularly salient as scientists seek to scale technologies designed to clean up the mess made by the burning of fossil fuels: excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
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