Social representations of climate change in a group of college students from the University of Santiago de Compostela: common culture vs. scientific culture

Abstract

This work was developed as partof the RESCLIMA project(2012 –present) The projectinvestigatedtherelationship between science and common culture in social representations of climate change. Itcontributesto education and communication on climate risksandexplores the complex logic that lies inthe construction of climate changeknowledgeand the role that scientific culture plays in this process. RESCLIMA attends tothe need to expand knowledge on "social factors" of climate change and its application in designingpolicies, programs and educational and communicative resources on socio-environmental problemsand on the environmental crisis in general.The 'social factor,'that is, the way thatpeopleperceive and valueclimate changeinformation, is crucial to taking responsible actions. On the one hand, it putspressure on decision-makers to adopt more forceful response policies. On the otherhand, it influences our own personal disposition to accept and adopt significant changes in everyday life, such as those connected withafossil fuels-based energy model. This project is financed by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of the Government of Spain (ref. EDU2015-63572-P) and with ERDF funds from the European Union.