EOS1.8 | Telling climate stories: platforms, tools, and methodologies for accurate and engaging science communication
EDI
Telling climate stories: platforms, tools, and methodologies for accurate and engaging science communication
Co-organized by CL3.2/GM12
Convener: Arianna Acierno | Co-conveners: Elena MaggiECSECS, Vera Penêda, Francesca de Ruvo, Marjana Brkic
Orals
| Tue, 16 Apr, 14:00–15:45 (CEST), 16:15–18:00 (CEST)
 
Room 1.34
Posters on site
| Attendance Mon, 15 Apr, 16:15–18:00 (CEST) | Display Mon, 15 Apr, 14:00–18:00
 
Hall X1
Orals |
Tue, 14:00
Mon, 16:15
Scientists, communicators, citizens, and the media: public awareness of climate change calls for interdisciplinary collaboration to create clear and cohesive narratives to reach a wide and diverse audience and create a real impact. Climate change narratives can take different paths and focus on different perspectives, professions, sectors, and the audience addressed. The role of trust is also pivotal, as different publics are likely to reject information, regardless of its accuracy, if the message doesn’t resonate with an individuals' personal experiences.
Contextualization and concurring historical breakthroughs in climate politics can heighten media attention and coverage, but how can climate science communication reach a wide variety of audiences? To engage a diverse public’s attention and involvement in climate sciences, language must be simple, clear, and appealing. The imaginary boundary between the narrator and the audience can be removed thanks to the contribution and cooperation of cross-sectoral professionalism and experiences. Science and data are the starting point, but stories travel far to reach deeper levels of understanding and perception: those linked to our emotions. Words, voices, and images are stepping stones in the construction of innovative climate stories built to increase climate awareness and knowledge, grounded in frontier science research and forged with cutting-edge technological tools. Mixing the power of storytelling and new media possibilities, an innovative form of science communication can be defined and becomes an effective and powerful tool to convey specific information to a diverse public. This accurate information as a basis for awareness is a key tool to avoid that disinformation misleads the public's understanding of complex topics, such as climate change and science. Recent years confirm that disinformation influences the everyday life of citizens, limiting their active participation in the democratic process. This session is also designed to host a space of dialogue among researchers, fact-checkers, and communications experts to assess how disinformation affects science credibility and society and present tools to tackle it, enhancing the quality of information with a positive effect on public trust in science and resilience.

Session assets

Orals: Tue, 16 Apr | Room 1.34

Chairpersons: Arianna Acierno, Mirjana Volarev
14:00–14:05
14:05–14:15
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EGU24-2157
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EOS1.8
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On-site presentation
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Lisette Klok, Jan-Willem Anker, Sophie van der Horst, Timo Kelder, and Daniël Staal

Recent years have seen record-shattering extreme heat all over the world. Outliers have even surprised climate scientists. In the Netherlands too, it could get extremely hot in the near future. What could the impacts be if intense temperatures hit the Netherlands? For such a scenario, we developed the climate story ‘Unseen heat’ (unseenheat.com). With this story, about a young family in the Dutch city of Eindhoven, we want to depict what could happen if we face an unprecedented heat crisis.

The target audience of the story are professionals. With storytelling, matching pictures and sound, we want to make professionals aware of the possible risks of extreme heat. The aim is to start the conversation about how to prepare for a heat crisis.

In this presentation we would like to share our experiences regarding the developement of the storyline. The story is based on the latest scientific insights on exceptional weather events and impacts in the Netherlands, and numerous interviews. We will also explain how the story is currently being used by professionals, and we will present our lessons learned  on how the climate story can help to prepare for a heat crisis.

How to cite: Klok, L., Anker, J.-W., van der Horst, S., Kelder, T., and Staal, D.: Unseen heat, a story about the potential heat extremes in the Netherlands, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-2157, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-2157, 2024.

14:15–14:25
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EGU24-3116
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EOS1.8
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Highlight
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On-site presentation
Morelli Angela and Gabriel Johansen Tom

When addressing the intricacies of climate change and its profound impact on humanity and nature, we encounter extraordinary complexity. Whether the goal is to present scientific information to support decision-making processes, create seamless digital stories that capture the imagination of an audience, or produce data visualisations that help us discern, distinguish, learn and understand, Design can offer a systematic tool to tackle this complexity. Design provides the solid foundation of human-centered methodologies that equip us with the tools needed to meet our audience where they are, ensuring the participation of multiple stakeholders and the inclusion of diverse perspectives. This is key to building solutions that resonate with an audience, upholding principles of justice, equality, fairness, and transparency.

How to cite: Angela, M. and Tom, G. J.: Design as a participatory foundation for impactful climate communications, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-3116, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-3116, 2024.

14:25–14:35
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EGU24-8129
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EOS1.8
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Highlight
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On-site presentation
Ottavia Carlon, Alessandra Mazzai, Agnese Glauda, Davide Michielin, Francesco Bassetti, Selvaggia Santin, and Arianna Acierno

Facilitating meaningful cross-sectoral conversations is essential for the successful integration of various disciplines in climate change communication. To address the key challenges of our times, the exchange of ideas and best practices can be highly beneficial in a collaborative effort to enhance public engagement around climate science and solutions. By creating networks that bring together scientists, experts, and communication professionals, research institutions can collaboratively shape future climate narratives based on information trustworthiness. 

The CMCC Foundation’s approach to disseminating frontier science and showcasing exemplary climate change communication initiatives serves as a cutting-edge case study. With the biennial CMCC Climate Change Communication Award “Rebecca Ballestra”, CMCC aims to highlight innovative science-based communication projects worldwide, raising awareness about the changing climate and its societal impacts, through art, journalism, education and integrated campaigns. An ever-growing digital platform (www.cmccaward.eu) collects the best grassroots and upscaled initiatives that communicate threats and opportunities of current and future climate scenarios, empowering new voices and promoting interdisciplinary dialogue to trigger action. The first two editions of the Award have assembled over 300 initiatives from all around the globe, thus allowing to build a wide network of communication professionals and providing them with the opportunity to engage in dialogue and collaboration.

Building upon these connections, the Foresight Dialogues (https://www.cmccaward.eu/foresight-dialogues/), a series of online and in-person conversations with international experts, scientists and communication professionals, create a space for more in-depth discussions on the multifaceted role of communication in accelerating the climate transition. The topics covered include sociology in dialogue with Rebecca Huntley of the Australian agency 89 Degrees East; journalism, with Sarah Kaplan, climate reporter at Washington Post, and representatives from the American Climate Central network; disinformation, with Australian John Cook, founder of Skeptical Science, and the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO); arts, with the Serbian Center for the Promotion of Science (CPN) and Carolina Aragon, past CMCC Award Winner and professor at UMass Amherst; photography, with authors of the projects “The Cooling Solutions” and “On the Trails of the Glaciers”; solutions, with the Futerra change agency and Ione Anderson, from Brasil; public engagement, with the European Science Engagement Association (EUSEA) and the Barcelona SuperComputing Center (BSC); architecture with the Stefano Boeri Architetti firm; and podcasts and films with the Italian authors of Bello Mondo, and the second edition Award winner from India, Faces of Climate Resilience. 

The Foresight Dialogues are an integral part of the CMCC’s editorial project, Foresight (https://www.climateforesight.eu/), an online multimedia magazine that combines in-house climate change expertise with external knowledge. Foresight gathers ideas from international climate experts, offering insights into the potential future of our society, economy, and planet by bridging science, policy, and public narratives.

Together, these initiatives contribute to framing the discourse on the communication of climate research, linking interdisciplinary knowledge to actionable outcomes. As the CMCC Foundation continues to enlarge its network and spotlight impactful climate communication projects, it cultivates a shared understanding of climate challenges, promoting a collective response for a sustainable future.

How to cite: Carlon, O., Mazzai, A., Glauda, A., Michielin, D., Bassetti, F., Santin, S., and Acierno, A.: Bridging disciplines, shaping futures: the power of networking for climate change communication, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-8129, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-8129, 2024.

14:35–14:45
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EGU24-773
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EOS1.8
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ECS
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Virtual presentation
Nobonita Rakshit and Rashmi Gaur

India finds itself in the throes of an unprecedented water crisis, posing a severe threat to millions of lives and livelihoods. Currently, a staggering 600 million Indians grapple with high to extreme water stress, leading to approximately two lakh deaths annually attributed to insufficient access to safe water. The gravity of the situation is exacerbated by projections indicating that, by 2030, the country’s water demand will surpass twice the available supply. This foretells a dire scenario of acute water scarcity affecting hundreds of millions of people and culminating in an estimated ~6% decline in the nation’s GDP. In light of these alarming statistics, the need for a localised, culturally infused, and literary approach to communicate scientific data on water scarcity to the general populace has become more crucial than ever. Contemporary Indian graphic novelist Sarnath Banerjee’s graphic narrative All Quiet in Vikaspuri (2015) has been read for this study to analyse the embodied experiences of water scarcity faced by the thirsty population in India’s one of the most polluted megacities who are in the quest, both mythical and physical, of finding and retaining water supply in Delhi. Through an experimental amalgamation of scientific data and graphic media, Banerjee explores how stories play crucial roles both in unveiling the historical consciousness of the postcolonial hydro-modernity marked by the resource extraction and hydrological exhaustion and in framing scarcity, not as natural but as socio-political production in twentieth and twenty-first-century India. This study does not merely engage with the data, research, and discussions around climate change and water crisis, which often remain abstract, full of jargon, and far removed from everyday lived realities. Rather, it underscores the urgency of visual communication in conferring long-lasting co-benefits upon the people and socio-ecological systems of which they are part.

How to cite: Rakshit, N. and Gaur, R.: Climate Disasters and Postcolonial Narratives: Mapping India’s Water Crisis in the Contemporary Indian Graphic Novels, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-773, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-773, 2024.

14:45–14:55
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EGU24-20900
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EOS1.8
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Highlight
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On-site presentation
Gaura Naithani

How a pan-European training programme is supporting scientists, journalists and content creators to reach younger audiences with their climate stories.

As heat records continue to be broken across Europe, hard-hitting, impactful climate and environmental journalism has never been more sorely needed. The European Journalism Centre (EJC) thus identified that investigating these topics and discussing potential solutions for environmental issues is a crucial public service, especially given the role played by the media in shaping the discourse around the climate crisis. 

However, the way Europeans are getting their news is also changing. More than a third (34%) of 15-24-year-olds in the EU follow news primarily on YouTube or other video platforms, compared to only 8% of people aged 55+, according to the Eurobarometer Media & News Survey 2022. With young people rapidly migrating from traditional print, broadcast, and digital to social and streaming platforms, independent journalists and freelancers need to keep up if they want to reach audiences where they are. Additionally, as climate science evolves, journalists must navigate interdisciplinary research and solutions-oriented approaches to communicate compelling stories to diverse audiences. EJC strongly believes that interdisciplinary collaboration between climate scientists,journalists and content creators is a stronger approach to respond to this critical global issue and counter news fatigue simultaneously.

To achieve this, in 2023, the EJC partnered with YouTube to develop an in-person training program that explored the vibrant intersection between journalism and climate science. For this, 21 video-first news creators, climate scientists, and journalists across Europe were mentored by EJC and experts from Deutsche Welle, Vice News, and YouTube. The main objective was to equip the participants with tools and knowledge to:

  • Debunk misinformation around climate change.
  • Develop creative storytelling formats to simplify complex climate stories.
  • Identify sustainable revenue models for their YouTube channels.
  • Navigate the platform’s algorithms to counter filter bubbles.
  • Collaborate with each other (journalists and non-journalists).

As a result:

  • UK-Based climate scientist Ella Gilbert recorded a 7.5% increase in the "Click Through Rate" on her videos after updating her thumbnails. Her content focuses on debunking climate fake news.
  • Dr. Adam Levy, a doctor in atmospheric physics at the University of Oxford, who runs the YouTube channel “Climate Adam,” collaborated with Germany-based “Migration Matters.” Together they produced a 10-minute-long video explaining climate migration across the globe. The video currently has over 23K views!
  • PhD scholar and freelance video presenter Roshan Salgado, who runs the YouTube channel “All About Climate,” also shared inputs from his research that focuses on communicating climate change in modern media. The bootcamp helped him transform his climate change facts into a compelling newsworthy script.

This bootcamp contributes towards EJC’s larger vision to foster a resilient digital news ecosystem in Europe, in which trustworthy climate content stands out and is trusted over disinformation.

 

How to cite: Naithani, G.: Climate Narratives: Empowering Voices for a Sustainable Future. , EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-20900, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-20900, 2024.

14:55–15:05
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EGU24-5397
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EOS1.8
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On-site presentation
Francesco Avanzi, Marina Mantini, Annalisa Marighella, Silvia Porcu, Anna Romano, Luca Salvioli Mariani, Marina Caporlingua, Michela Finizio, Luca Galimberti, Ferdinando Cotugno, Federico Grazzini, Nicolas Lozito, Nick Breeze, Edoardo Cremonese, Marta Galvagno, Sara Favre, Paolo Pogliotti, Umberto Morra di Cella, Lauro Rossi, and Luca Ferraris

Winter 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 were characterized by extreme drought conditions across the Italian Alps, with a –60% in Snow Water Equivalent at peak accumulation compared to recent years. During summer 2022, this deficit in snow compounded the ongoing precipitation deficit and temperature anomaly in dictating historical lows in water supply across the Po river basin. In this context, in January 2022 CIMA Research Foundation initiated periodic communication actions on social media and its website (https://www.cimafoundation.org/en/) to report on the ongoing snow-drought conditions and the potential implications for water security. This effort started from dissemination on social media, such as threads on Twitter/X (https://twitter.com/CIMAFoundation/status/1646451722968088577) and on LinkedIn, and ended up in triggering a significant media coverage in the form of national/international newspapers, all-news TV outlets, blogs, podcasts, and official reports at various levels. The communication became a campaign that influenced drought storytelling in Italy, creating an unexpected “snowball effect”. In this case study, CIMA’s researchers got together with some of the journalists and science communicators who covered this event to discuss reasons for its newsworthiness and mediatic lessons learned for the future of the scientific communication in a warming climate. Working at the science-media interface, we learned the role that key messages, regularity in information release, visual identity, and simplicity play in driving communication. We also confirm the central role of a two-step methodology in which scientists create content that is delivered to the public by a mediator (whether a journalist or an organization), and the importance both for scientists to actively engage with such mediators to get the message across and for journalists to look at, and trust, specific sources of information. This activity is continuing in 2023/24 as snow conditions face increasing pressure from warming temperatures and aridity. In the long run, it will bring awareness to the citizenship on the crucial role of immediate and credible climate-change adaptation strategies at multiple levels. 

How to cite: Avanzi, F., Mantini, M., Marighella, A., Porcu, S., Romano, A., Salvioli Mariani, L., Caporlingua, M., Finizio, M., Galimberti, L., Cotugno, F., Grazzini, F., Lozito, N., Breeze, N., Cremonese, E., Galvagno, M., Favre, S., Pogliotti, P., Morra di Cella, U., Rossi, L., and Ferraris, L.: How to make droughts newsworthy: lessons from the 2022/2023 snow deficit in the Italian Alps, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-5397, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-5397, 2024.

15:05–15:15
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EGU24-11888
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EOS1.8
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On-site presentation
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Elisa Vanin and Alvise Mattozzi

The presentation intends to reflect about the relevance of narrating the climate crisis, by taking into account an ongoing initiative promoted by the Department of Environmental, Land and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI) of Politecnico di Torino (PoliTo) called, indeed, “Narrare la crisi climatica”.

“Narrare la crisi climatica” is this year edition of an 8-year long initiative called “Conversazioni in Biblioteca” (Conversations in the Library). The Conversations aim to stimulate dialogue between hard sciences and social and human sciences, on topics related to environmental issues in the broader sense. The Conversations are open to the public, but they are also addressed to the wide PoliTo student community, to enhance their transdisciplinary skills.

With this year edition (the title can be translated into “Narrating the climate crisis”), we, as curator of the initiative, decided to invite, besides hard and social-human scientists, also people coming from what is usually called the “creative” domain (art, design, storytelling and writing, music, filmmaking, theater, etc.).

The presentation will analyze and discuss the way in which these three different forms of knowledge come together to dialogue around climate crisis and the way to narrate it.

We, as curators, have chosen the words “narrating” and “storytelling” knowing that human beings think, reason, understand and plan by telling stories to each other, and also knowing that the stories they tell themselves are not necessarily lies, quite the contrary. Even a scientific article, when it has to give an account of a transformation, a process, and the actions that have led to circumscribe it, highlight it, describe it, compare it, define it and perhaps explain it, will inevitably rely on a narrative.

We know that one of the strengths of narration is precisely its capacity to involve, to affabulate, to engage in a world, shared between the storyteller and those who participate in the narration and enjoy it, in order to come out, in the end, somewhat transformed - a transformation, therefore, that does not only concern the characters, events and facts narrated, but, on another level, also those who narrate and are narrated by them.

We know that these properties of narration do not only take place through words, which is why we decided to include in the conversation other expressive languages capable of creating a point of contact between scholars and the public.

Our interest in narration started also by considering Amitav Ghosh’s reflection about the inability of literature and art in general to deal with climate change and to narrate it, as a real imaginative failure (see Ghosh, The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (2017)). We somehow wanted to probe if from 2017, when Ghosh published his reflection, up to now something was changed and if further change could be initiated by putting together three people for two hours discussing their experiences with the issue.

The presentation will analyze and reflect upon the interaction between the three forms of knowledge generated through the conversations.

How to cite: Vanin, E. and Mattozzi, A.: “Narrating the climate crisis” – an experiment in the form of a series of conversations, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-11888, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-11888, 2024.

15:15–15:25
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EGU24-20530
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EOS1.8
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Highlight
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Virtual presentation
Enrica De Cian, Jacopo Crimi, Antonella Mazzone, and Gaia Squarci

Born out of a 5-year-long scientific research by the University of Venice, The Cooling Solution is a photographic project which investigates how people from different socioeconomic backgrounds adapt to rising temperatures and humidity. The project has been developed as an indoor and outdoor exhibition, a catalog, and a website. It points out inequalities linked to access to energy and cooling technologies in India, Indonesia, Brazil and Italy reflecting on the way cooling strategies, architecture and social habits affect our relationship to the increasing heat across the world. The project starts from scientific data and blends them with personal stories and portraits to return an immersive and engaging experience for the visitors. The successful exhibition held in Venice in 2023 resulted in a wide dissemination of the research outputs outside of the sphere European research projects usually reach, involving a broad, diverse and international audience. 

Key for the development of the project was the involvement of different skilled professionals, which added a crucial element to the mix. The coordination of work was assigned to a communication agency specialized in academic content, who guided the photographer in developing her reportages, but also developed a narrative which could hold together the dozens of scientific papers produced during the ERC project with the photography. The involvement of a professional curatorship then allowed to plan, layout and choose a subset of 67 pictures among the hundreds shot by the photographer, creating at last a multilayered narrative where all elements - texts, scientific data, photography -  coexisted without prevailing on one another. While planning and implementing the exhibition, the human dimension has always remained prevalent, knowing that the possibility to resonate and link with people's thoughts and possibly behaviors can be mediated through personal emotions.

How to cite: De Cian, E., Crimi, J., Mazzone, A., and Squarci, G.: The cooling solution, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-20530, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-20530, 2024.

15:25–15:35
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EGU24-15895
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EOS1.8
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ECS
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On-site presentation
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Daniela Navarro-Perez, Anthony Ramírez-Salazar, Sofía Barragán-Montilla, Mariela Garcia Arredondo, Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Angelique Rosa Marín, and María Alejandra Gómez Correa

GeoTraductores, a collaborative initiative involving Eos.org, GeoLatinas, and Planeteando, aims to overcome the language barrier in climate change and Earth science communication within Spanish-speaking communities. To accomplish this, science articles from Eos.org have been translated into Spanish by approximately 40 volunteers as part of the Eos en Español project. Around 85% of our team comprises  Latin women,  who have translated over 150 articles, contributing to expanding the Spanish-speaking audience of Eos.org and solidifying the initiative’s success. This strategic translation effort not only enhances accessibility but also promotes the representation of Latin American Early Careers Scientists, many of whom reside and work in predominantly English-speaking countries.

Since 2020, the GeoTraductores initiative has been co-led by (1) members of the non-profit organization GeoLatinas dedicated to embracing, empowering, and inspiring Latinas in Earth and Planetary Sciences; (2) Planeteando, a Mexican scientific and social outreach project in Earth and Environmental Sciences; and (3) Eos.org, the science news magazine published by AGU. Each party plays a distinct role in the initiative: (1) volunteer recruitment of translators is handled by GeoLatinas and Planeteando, (2) proofreading and editing of the translated articles is mainly led by Planeteando, and (3) the articles and platforms to make the final Spanish translation available are provided by Eos.org. In a broader effort, all involved collaborators utilize their social media platforms to make this bilingual content more accessible to a wider readership.

Throughout this initiative, the GeoTraductores volunteers benefit by improving their English and translation skills, gaining visibility on social media, and making an altruistic contribution to the Latin American general public. Collaborators also benefit from engaging and gaining a wider audience to communicate science, as they foster the capacity building of volunteers, promoting a science communication co-production, and boosting each other. Overall, GeoTraductores is forging a pathway to democratize science, particularly in Latin America. Through establishing and strengthening a network of expert bilingual science communicators, this initiative addresses historical language barriers that impede the accessibility and dissemination of scientific information to the general public. By empowering volunteers and embracing diversity, GeoTraductores paves the way for expanding multilingual spaces within Earth and Planetary sciences one translation at a time.

How to cite: Navarro-Perez, D., Ramírez-Salazar, A., Barragán-Montilla, S., Garcia Arredondo, M., Micalizio, C.-S., Rosa Marín, A., and Gómez Correa, M. A.: GeoTraductores: one translation at a time, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-15895, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-15895, 2024.

15:35–15:45
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EGU24-12998
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EOS1.8
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On-site presentation
Gottfried Kirchengast and Moritz Pichler

The University of Graz Wegener Center has recently opened a new data portal termed Graz Climate Change Indicators (GCCI). It is accessible via https://gcci.earth (present version v2) and is currently receiving a substantial further upgrade (to GCCI v3) that will be released later in 2024. The data portal helps to bridge climate science, narratives and action and provides, in an easy-to-use way with focus on informative time series, reliable recent-past monitoring information jointly with current-state nowcasting and Paris-compliant future projection information, over the critical climate change timeframe from 1960 via the present to 2050.

In doing so, the GCCI portal focuses on three indicator classes that span the climate change problem, and projected solution pathways, from causes to impacts: greenhouse gas emissions (GEM-GHG Emissions Monitoring), global warming (CWM-Climate Warming Monitoring), and climate change impacts in terms of weather and climate extremes (EWM-Extreme Weather Monitoring, released spring 2024). The geographic domains included (GeoDomains) range from Global (GLO) via Europe (EUR) to Austria (AT), with the countries and regions within a domain (GeoRegions) covered by relevant indicator time series (GCCI v2 including GLO-EUR-AT domains for GEM and GLO for CWM).

We briefly introduce the overall GCCI design, including its open data and open science approach, which is made to enable broad uptake and to support climate solution narratives on “pathways to Paris”, also linking to the co-developed climate solutions framework “Carbon Management – carbsmart2Paris” (website https://carbmanage.earth). We then discuss climate action and policy relevant example use cases, from backing emission reduction policymaking to creating awareness for and understanding the links from emissions via greenhouse gas concentrations and radiative forcing to global warming in terms of global surface temperature increase and other changes. These exemplary uses and related narratives intend to highlight how the easy-to-use availability, and simple-to-add expandability, of scientifically reliable recent, current, and projected climate change key data may encourage and empower actors to exercise more climate-change-aware and climate-solutions-oriented decision making.

Overall, the GCCI data portal wants to bring, besides its value also for research and teaching, a clear added-value to policy makers, other stakeholders and the broader public, by helping science-back their climate narratives and action efforts towards reaching the Paris climate goals.

How to cite: Kirchengast, G. and Pichler, M.: Graz Climate Change Indicators: A data portal backing climate narratives towards reaching the Paris climate goals, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-12998, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-12998, 2024.

Coffee break
Chairpersons: Arianna Acierno, Mirjana Volarev
16:15–16:20
16:20–16:30
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EGU24-12511
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EOS1.8
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On-site presentation
Karsten Haustein, Hannes Zacher, Katja Liebal, Marie Eichholz, and Ulrike Mühlhaus

Climate change adaptation in urban spaces will only be successful if societal actors from science, politics and public find common ground, and join forces on a local level. One of the sectors that is notoriously difficult to transform in a sustainable way is transportation, and linked to it the way we design our cities. Bike infrastructure is almost universally under-developed (apart from notable exceptions such as Utrecht, NL, or Copenhagen, DK), putting marginalised people at a massive disadvantage in that they cannot freely choose which mode of transport to use. The structural privilege for motorists in virtually all post-war western societies is so prevalent, that even mentioning of the shear existence of those privileges is considered offensive and met with huge outcry and media frenzy in support of the status quo.

So how to address the issue, given the fact that a host of transformative steps are undoubtedly required to make urban spaces future proof? How are we raising awareness to the fact that the externalised costs of excessive car use in cities are vastly underappreciated - be it health related costs due to noise and air pollution, accidents, lack of exercise; environmental costs due to carbon emissions; infrastructural investments; or the lack of greenery due to parked cars, and so on? In short, how can we change the conversation such that justice and visionary thinking (rather than fear) become front and center of the discourse?

We show how tailored science communication can help to expose preconceived notions and thus reduce conflict between various actors. The strategy is based on solid evidence, which highlights the hidden costs of currently privileged modes of transport. Also, it demonstrates why certain arguments in support of the status quo are deeply flawed. Using expertise from colleagues in the social sciences (organizational psychology), we aim at understanding why decision makers act so hesitantly. Ultimately, a list of guiding principles when it comes to constructive dialogue - and identifying bad faith actors - will be developed (with the help of experienced societal actors) and disseminated amongst decision makers but also colleagues in disciplines with similar levels of public controversy. First results are presented at EGU’24.

How to cite: Haustein, K., Zacher, H., Liebal, K., Eichholz, M., and Mühlhaus, U.: Justice and urban transformation in light of accelerating climate change , EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-12511, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-12511, 2024.

16:30–16:40
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EGU24-16502
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EOS1.8
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On-site presentation
Fergus McAuliffe, Valerie Bistany, and Fiona O'Rourke

“Writing The Earth” was an interdisciplinary and collaborative programme between the Irish Writers Centre and the SFI Research Centre in Applied Geosciences, which brought six creative writers and ten geoscientists together to research and write about climate and geoscience in various genres or narrative forms to reach new public audiences.

In a collaborative process of talks, facilitated workshops and mentoring across six months, the programme brought the worlds of geoscience and creative writing together. New writings to have been created and performed for the public through the programme included: scenes from two new plays that explore the health of the planet and mass extinction through razor-sharp satire and earnest pathos. Other writings explored the intimate human connection between worker and object, consumer and extracted raw materials, and our relationship with groundwater through the lens of family history, mythology and science.

Writing the Earth sought to explore the commonality between geoscientists and writers as both narrators and observers of our world, and to create a safe space for deliberation, dialogue and creative expression on what can sometimes be complex, and contentions, geoscience topics. Central to the success of the programme, and in the creation of the new narrative writings, was the geoscientist-writer relationship. What a geoscientist does is to research and investigate a topic methodically, and to reach conclusions based on a series of observations which are often complex to explain to a general audience. What a writer often does is to make sense of our world, often the indecipherable parts of our existence, through language, imagery and emotion.  Whether scientist, or writer, both ultimately use the written word to describe the world to the reader.

We will share our experiences of running a creative, interdisciplinary programme, short extracts from the new writings, the results of the pre-, mid- and post-evaluation, and key takeaways on how to run a similar programme.

How to cite: McAuliffe, F., Bistany, V., and O'Rourke, F.: Writing the Earth: what happens when you bring creative writers and geoscientists together to explore climate and sustainability issues?, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-16502, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-16502, 2024.

16:40–16:50
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EGU24-7882
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EOS1.8
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On-site presentation
Disinformation and science : the climate change lens
(withdrawn)
Paula Gori
16:50–17:00
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EGU24-1575
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EOS1.8
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Virtual presentation
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Bärbel Winkler and John Cook

Skeptical Science is a volunteer-run website publishing refutations of climate misinformation. Some members of the Skeptical Science team actively research best-practices refutation techniques while other team members use the provided materials to share debunking techniques effectively either in writing or through presentations. In this submission, we highlight several of our publications and projects, designed to help to give facts a fighting chance against misinformation. While some of the resources are directly related to climate change such as the rebuttals to common climate myths, the employed techniques apply across different topics. They include the “FLICC-framework” which features a taxonomy of science denial rhetorical techniques (FLICC standing for fake experts, logical fallacies, impossible expectations, cherry picking, and conspiracy theories), the Debunking Handbook 2020 which summarizes research findings and expert advice about debunking misinformation, and the Conspiracy Theory Handbook distilling research findings and expert advice on dealing with conspiracy theories. We will also introduce the Cranky Uncle smartphone game,  which uses critical thinking, gamification, and cartoons to interactively explain science denial techniques and build resilience against misinformation.

How to cite: Winkler, B. and Cook, J.: Resources to give facts a fighting chance against misinformation, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-1575, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-1575, 2024.

17:00–17:10
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EGU24-17203
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EOS1.8
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ECS
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On-site presentation
Spyridoula Markou, Adam Doulgerakis, Anna Triantafillou, Arianna Acierno, Mauro Buonocore, and Alfredo Reder

This paper reports on the design and development of a Digital Academy against Climate Change Disinformation providing citizens with trustworthy information and resources on climate change, as well as fact-checked information from credible sources. The objective of the Digital Academy is to enable citizens to browse through: a) trustworthy information, such as articles and scientific publications; b) fact-checks that debunk climate change disinformation; c) relevant resources, such as media literacy material; and d) reports on the state of disinformation around climate change.

The Digital Academy against Climate Change Disinformation is part of the AGORA project’s digital tools, delivered through the AGORA project’s Digital Agora living digital environment that enables stakeholders, scientists, experts, media and citizens to network and communicate, to find peers and other communities from other geographical or societal contexts to share challenges and needs, facilitating multidisciplinary, integrated approaches to societal transformation. Aspiring to play a crucial role in the collective efforts to tackle climate-related disinformation and drive societal transformation, the Digital Academy aims to enhance individual skills, foster collaboration, and provide credible sources for empowering local communities in addressing the climate crisis. 

The material (modules and resources) that is made available through the Digital Academy is structured in three main sections, namely (i) Climate Change, (ii) Media Literacy, and (iii) Resources. The Climate Change section includes modules, focusing on climate change, climate communication, and climate disinformation, and aims to equip users with a comprehensive understanding of climate-related challenges. Additionally, the Digital Academy actively counters climate change disinformation by providing debunks and reliable information. Recognizing the importance of media literacy in the digital age, the Media Literacy section includes modules on critical thinking, digital literacy, fact-checking, and verification, aspiring to empower users to navigate the digital landscape with confidence. The Resources section encompasses climate fact checks, reports on climate change and adaptation, and a wealth of tools and approaches. Case studies and stories within this section share experiences, highlighting enablers, barriers, and lessons learned from ongoing implementations.

In summary, the Digital Agora stands as a comprehensive platform, promoting informed decision-making, climate resilience, and media literacy. Through its diverse modules and extensive library of resources, the Digital Agora aims to create a resilient community equipped to address the challenges of climate change and disinformation.

Acknowledgement: The presented work is part of the AGORA Project and it is funded by the European Union through the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions under grant agreement No 101093921. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

How to cite: Markou, S., Doulgerakis, A., Triantafillou, A., Acierno, A., Buonocore, M., and Reder, A.: A Digital Academy against Climate Change Disinformation featuring trustworthy and fact-checked information and resources on climate change and media literacy., EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-17203, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-17203, 2024.

17:10–17:20
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EGU24-15618
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EOS1.8
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ECS
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Virtual presentation
Ruslana Margova

Scientific news in Bulgaria is not a high priority as there are not many specialised media to systematically cover the information flow, and scientific discoveries in the daily news are mostly covered by editors of international news and often appear in the sections titled Curiosity. The present study does not go into an analysis of the causes and consequences of these biases, although the problem of misinformation in science is largely rooted in the lack of professionalism in the field, as science news is not directly related to political misinformation, but could influence the societal reception. Still, mis/disinformation often permeates science news as well. Till now, the misinformation in scientific news in the Bulgarian linguistic field has not been research topic, exceptions are the analyses related to the provocations around the Green Deal (CSD, 2023) and indirectly to climate change.

This study tries to identify and compare the main narratives related to misinformation and science in the online space and analyzes some interesting cases of fake news in the media space in Bulgaria. Lewandowsky defines several disinformation strategies in science news: undermine and question the scientific consensus, highlight scientific uncertainty and demand certainty as a condition for climate action, attack individual scientists to undermine their credibility, undermine institutions in general, such as peer review, pseudoscientific alternatives through a network of blogs (Lewandowsky, 2021). These strategies are also visible in the Bulgarian space, and identifying the main narratives can serve as a possible inoculation against future misinformation.

The methodology involves, on the one hand, the manual monitoring and identification of controversial news related to science from Bulgarian online media. Specific cases are analyzed in an attempt to typify the narratives. On the other hand, technology has also been used to extract the topics by keywords related to science and climate change from very large online media platforms. The results of both approaches provide a picture of possible narratives and issues related to the representation of scientific news in the Bulgarian linguistic field.

Among the most shared news stories emerged not those that were scientific, but pseudoscientific ones related to dubious health advice, astrology and conspiracy theories. In this sense, the strategy of questioning the scientific consensus, undermining institutions and usining pseudoscientific alternatives is obvious. Scientific hoaxes related to Bulgarian history, as well as to everything Bulgarian, have emerged as a characteristic feature of Bulgarian social networks. Generative artificial intelligence is also a frightening topic. On the other hand, a topic like Global Information Systems is hardly touched upon, except by highly profiled publications, which can be considered a good sign.

Based on the narratives found, future prebunking and inoculation could be done. The narratives can be compared with those emerging in the post-Soviet space in other European countries and Europe in general, and in this sense, the study is a step toward a more general understanding of the processes of mis and disinformation in the scientific news flow not only in Bulgarian.

How to cite: Margova, R.: Misinformation in scientific news in Bulgarian for future inoculation , EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-15618, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-15618, 2024.

17:20–17:30
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EGU24-17910
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EOS1.8
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On-site presentation
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Cecilia Manosa Nyblon and Sally Flint

Our future is unwritten, it will be shaped by who we choose to be and the actions we take now individually and collectively. At the University of Exeter (UoE) we have pioneered a new way of communicating climate science that really engages people intellectually and emotionally in the lead up to and at major international negotiations to feel the drive to respond to the call to action. Building on the long term legacy, narrative, and impact of our UoE’s  We Are the Possible (UAE 2023), We Still Have a Chance (Egypt 2022) and One Chance Left  (UK 2021), delivered successfully at the diplomatic and public spaces at COP, we have connected the UK and our global partners at the heart of the international conversation on confronting the climate crisis with determination, imagination, and hope, bridging the gap between science and the public.

 

Our purpose is to use the platform of COP to communicate new climate narratives, linking science, health, arts, and education and build strategic partnerships to raise awareness of the urgent need for collective climate action among children, young people, policy makers and the public. To achieve our purpose, we co-create new narratives underpinned by world-class science. These new narratives are the bedrock for translation into sustainable theatre performances, large scale murals, music and soundscapes, digital visualisations and animation, education toolkits, workshops, storytelling events, and more. We will discuss the power of linking storytelling and new media possibilities to catalyse climate action and solutions with diverse audiences locally and globally.

How to cite: Manosa Nyblon, C. and Flint, S.: We Are the Possible: New Narratives Connecting Science, Health, Education and the Arts, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-17910, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-17910, 2024.

17:30–17:40
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EGU24-8799
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EOS1.8
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ECS
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On-site presentation
Anna Boqué-Ciurana, Josep Maria López Madrid, Eloi Carbonell, Enric Aguilar, and Carlos Lozano

Embark on a compelling narrative that chronicles the experiences of Laura and Joan, students participating in a field trip to the Delta del Ebre, responding to a collaborative initiative spearheaded by the Center for Climate Change (C3) at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV). This narrative is shaped by the surf-centric climate services thesis of Dr. Anna Boqué, emphasizing the seamless integration of academic research into pragmatic climate mitigation measures. 

 Notably, the realization of this initiative is indebted to the steadfast support of the Department of Research and Universities of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Laura and Joan, guided by insights from the URV's Climate Change Research Center, engage in data analysis and strategic formulation of climate crisis interventions, exemplifying the transformative potential of interdisciplinary collaboration. 

 This story, available in both Catalan and English, forms an integral part of a collection disseminated to educational institutions and libraries. The accompanying website offers a didactic guide and a diverse array of materials for a thorough exploration, underscoring the intersection of academic research, climate services, and community-driven initiatives. Join us in acknowledging the catalyzing impact of collaboration and recognizing the pivotal role played by the Generalitat de Catalunya in empowering students to contribute meaningfully to a resilient and sustainable future. 

We acknowledge Carlos Lozano, Montse Español, Xavier Gómez Cacho, and Jordi Sales for their contribution to this work. 

 

How to cite: Boqué-Ciurana, A., López Madrid, J. M., Carbonell, E., Aguilar, E., and Lozano, C.: Surfing the Climate Wave: Laura and Joan's Expedition in the Delta , EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-8799, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-8799, 2024.

17:40–17:50
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EGU24-19620
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EOS1.8
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On-site presentation
Simone Picco and silvia macalli

Fondazione Lombardia per l‘Ambiente (FLA) - Lombardy Foundation for the Environment is an Italian private, non profit, foundation established in 1986 by the Lombardy Regional Administration and five major universities of Lombardy.

 

The foundation's work is functional to promote regional Environmental Education initiatives, to enhance and give them visibility. It is also precious to facilitate communication between Lombardy Region and the local entities dealing with these issues, as well as between educational supply and demand, from a networking and subsidiarity perspective.

 

It is a real mission, carried out through training activities, events, publications, collaborations aimed especially at schools, students and the younger generation.

 

In this context, correct information is promoted to this public and, more generally, to the citizenship, enhancing the foundation's vast scientific heritage. The goal is to support the growth of the culture of sustainability with trustable information.

 

This is a real antidote to the spread of fake news and misleading information, which is increasingly widespread in Italy in relation to climate change issues. The development of initiatives aimed at educators and students is also crucial to combat this problem at its root.

 

FLA organizes several initiatives annually, often in cooperation with organizations and associations in the sector, e.g. Regional Environmental Education Fair (Fiera di Educazione alla Sostenibilità Ambientale) that support the creation of the regional Environmental Education network and program and engaged one thousand students last October. Other activities are The Astronomy week with conferences and exhibition dedicated to the study of space.

 

FLA also promotes a tender on Environmental Education proposals to select high quality education projects for the development of environmental education and sustainability education on the territory. Around 200 projects were submitted at the three annual editions.

 

At the institutional level, FLA manages the regional environmental education portal on behalf of the Lombardy Region. It is a communication channel intended for a plurality of actors also and precisely to strengthen communication between the protagonists of this system of education and dissemination of a correct environmental culture, through the dissemination of documents, publications, and informative materials.

 

FLA also launched a journalism project called Redact-Us and developed in collaboration with Association Together and the newspaper Il Sussidiario.net, which trains students in the profession of journalist and communicator by providing the appropriate tools to communicate sustainability. As part of this activity, a survey was conducted on the interest and commitment of the younger generations in the environmental field.

 

In the last ten years, environmental education activities promoted by Lombardy Foundation for the Environment engaged more than 23.000 students in Lombardy and other Italian Regions.

 

This work is useful not only to promote correct information, but also to develop a special, evidence-based sensitivity towards nature.

How to cite: Picco, S. and macalli, S.: Environmental education and correct scientific information on climate change and natural issues: the case of Lombardy Foundation for the Environment, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-19620, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-19620, 2024.

17:50–18:00
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EGU24-3182
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EOS1.8
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ECS
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Virtual presentation
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Xiuli Chen and Joohan Ryoo

The main objective of this research is to establish the possible strategies that can be used in order to increase the number of people especially in K-12 education who are involved in climatology. The purpose is to analyze the creative utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) and academic entrepreneurship for teachers’ creation and sale of AI-based customized narrations on climate change issues. This is done by two means namely, application of AI tools through live streaming classes and e-training on content in teaching as well as mentoring them on business skills of disseminating and selling out such materials. There are three major areas where teachers require assistance such as producing better resource materials, generating income through them, and promoting students’ environmentally-related learning outcomes.

The research design involves both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Questionnaires given to 150 respondents who undertook online training will enable the collection of quantitative data indicating how effective the program is and whether AI tools are user-friendly. Thus, more than eighty percent of educators admitted that they could facilitate personalized climate stories using these programs; moreover, 85 percent said they were able to create personalized stories with their assistance. Furthermore, more than seventy percent anticipate an increase in interest among students about studying climate change. Interviews were conducted among various stakeholders including ten teacher entrepreneurs, ten students, and ten parents so as to collect qualitative data. These interviews aim at illustrating trust building through AI-infused materials which improve how we talk about climate change as well as encouraging sustainable behaviors among young people who learn. For instance eight out ten respondents confessed that they “knew nothing about global warming” but today they have knowledge concerning power plants discharging greenhouse gasses into the environment.. Thus this indicates a decline in numbers of children who perceive environmental conservation as a normal thing thus demonstrating that AI based instruction is efficient towards changing students attitudes for sustainability actions caused by it.

This study emphasizes that AI supports presentation of scientific knowledge to young people in an exciting way. Therefore, it is concerned with equipping teachers with competences in content development and entrepreneurship. Thus, climate education’s pedagogical efficiency, which improves its economic viability by presenting a way of imparting scientific truths on the subject matter, is thus also developed through this model.

How to cite: Chen, X. and Ryoo, J.: AI-Enhanced Academic Entrepreneurship in K-12 Climate Education in China, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-3182, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-3182, 2024.

Posters on site: Mon, 15 Apr, 16:15–18:00 | Hall X1

Display time: Mon, 15 Apr 14:00–Mon, 15 Apr 18:00
Chairpersons: Arianna Acierno, Mirjana Volarev
Climate narratives, stories and tools to bridge the gap of science communication.
X1.59
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EGU24-18318
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EOS1.8
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Inés Martín del Real, Marta Terrado, Diana Urquiza, Paula Checchia Adell, Alba Llabrés-Brustenga, and Antonia Frangeskou

Appropriate co-production of climate services with a wide range of knowledge- and stakeholders, as well as optimal networking and the creation of lasting partnerships, has been identified as crucial for the success of climate services solutions. This requires the involvement of both providers and end users, enabling a multi-way knowledge exchange and continuous joint learning. Continuous engagement with diverse actors, including stakeholders, climate scientists, science communicators, social scientists and user experience experts, facilitates the production of quality, fit-for-purpose and reliable knowledge for climate risk management and the improvement of adaptive capacities (Bojovic et al. 2021).

This poster explains the application of the knowledge co-production framework for climate services developed by the Knowledge Integration Team (KIT) of the Earth System Services group at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC). It addresses the crucial role of participation, collaboration and communication in achieving successful co-production between climate service providers and users. Using an example from the health sector and illustrated through a cartoon, the poster explains what climate services are. Our approach not only enables user empowerment (who, in the case of this narrative, are health practitioners) but also encourages transformative learning for all involved in the process. 

The creation of high-quality climate services is fostered by the development of ‘standards’ for climate services. These standards should ensure relevance, credibility, legitimacy and authority, thus creating a two-way trust between the provider and the end user. Due to the complexity of climate services, to address their standardisation, Baldissera Pacchetti, M & St. Clair, A.L. (2023) proposes to break them into some high-level components, such as decision context, coproduction, knowledge systems and delivery mode. In terms of delivery, different products and services will be created to serve and accompany a variety of end users with specific needs. 

When considering health practitioners, Early Warning Advisory Systems as a delivery product support early actions to protect the region from existing and emerging climate-related health threats and help target effective interventions, if needed. Climate change together with other environmental and socio-economic changes influences the activity of vectors capable of transmitting infectious diseases in Europe. This poster will introduce the process of co-creating a seasonal indicator platform linking seasonal climate predictions with new climate change and eco-epidemiology indicators for different vector-borne diseases. This provides an example of good co-production practices connecting providers and end users through a more integrated OneHealth approach, and facilitating the uptake of climate services by society. 

 

References:

Baldissera Pacchetti, M & St. Clair, A.L. (2023), Framework to support the equitable standardisation of climate services, D1.2 of the Climateurope2 project

Bojovic, D., Clair, A. L. S., Christel, I., Terrado, M., Stanzel, P., Gonzalez, P., & Palin, E. J. (2021). Engagement, involvement and empowerment: Three realms of a coproduction framework for climate services. Global Environmental Change, 68, 102271.

How to cite: Martín del Real, I., Terrado, M., Urquiza, D., Checchia Adell, P., Llabrés-Brustenga, A., and Frangeskou, A.: A co-production methodology for high-quality climate services: An example from the health sector. , EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-18318, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-18318, 2024.

X1.61
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EGU24-18744
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EOS1.8
Simone Picco, Mita Lapi, and Antonio Ballarin Denti

 

Climate change is seriously affecting glaciers across the entire planet and particularly the Alpine regions. Frequency and intensity of natural disasters as landslides, flash floods and avalanches are increasing and the dramatic retreat of Alpine glaciers inevitably compromises the water reserves endangering both economic activities and ecosystem services.

The Adamello glacier is the largest and deepest glacier in Italy: it represents one of the most valuable archives of the climatic, environmental, and human history of the Italian Alps. The ClimADA project (2022-2023), financed by Cariplo Foundation, Lombardy Region, and other public and private organizations is being developed by an extensive cooperation between universities and institutional bodies, coordinated by the Lombardy Foundation for the Environment, aiming at reconstructing its geo-ecological history and its dynamics in terms of mass and energy balances on the basis of field data, climate projections and mathematical models.  The ice cores extracted through a deep drilling that reached the bottom bedrock (225 m below the ice surface) are providing unique records of the glacier’s physical, chemical and biological history of the last 1000 years. Innovative optical fibre techniques have been employed to trace temperature and strain of the 3D ice mass profile providing relevant information of the glacier present and future dynamics.

The unfavourable projections based on plausible climate change scenarios are predicting an ever-increasing loss of ice mass and surface with a complete fusion of the entire glacier within the present century. The environmental, social and economic consequences of this scenario are raising great concern among the local communities, the tourism operators and the public opinion. To cope with this threat and to better exploit new potential opportunities for the local Alpine communities, the project has been promoting a intense dialogue between the scientific  community involved in the project, the local policy makers and the stakeholder organizations in order to design, discuss and develop an integrated climate change adaptation strategy capable to harmonize the local economic sustainable development and a more effective policies to protect the natural capital and the related ecosystem services.

For these reasons, the ClimADA project, organized a dense and effective campaign to raise awareness of the territory, of the public administrations and all citizens: the awareness campaign was structured into distinct but complementary and closely interconnected activities. The final objective of the project is to make the effects of climate change and its consequences on the territory, the environment and current and future water availability clear and understandable, stimulating important reflections on respect and protection of the environment in which we live and motivating adequate behaviours and actions.

Through the analysis of historical images and an intense photographic field surveys activity, the project has developed a large amount of information material: photographic comparisons, data, and analyses on the glacier, information panels (installed near the alpine refuges) and multimedia material (time -lapse videos, glaciological animations) to be used for educational (schools) and informative purposes. The involvement of local and national television media was also fundamental, with which the ClimADA project reached millions of viewers across the nation.

How to cite: Picco, S., Lapi, M., and Ballarin Denti, A.: ClimADA Project: a successful interaction between science community, decision makers and citizen to raise awareness and train expertise around the impact of climate change on the Alpine environment., EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-18744, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-18744, 2024.

Building awareness on correct and appropriate scientific information.
X1.62
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EGU24-3634
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EOS1.8
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ECS
Stamos Archontis and Andronikos Koutroumpelis

Our investigation presents a comprehensive fact-checking analysis of the standing of homeopathy in Greece, juxtaposing the support it receives from some official institutions with the prevailing scientific consensus. This work was prompted by a recent controversy surrounding the sponsorship of a homeopathic conference by the Ministry of Health and the Athens Medical Association. Notably, the official website of the organization hosting the event published articles making bold assertions about the effectiveness of homeopathy in treating COVID-19 and casting doubts on the safety of mRNA vaccines. Furthermore, the event highlighted a presentation claiming to treat a supposed case of vaccine-induced autism with homeopathy.

To address these claims, we conducted a detailed inquiry involving requests for official statements from relevant Greek authorities and professional associations. Our approach included a thorough review of national regulations, an extensive examination of medical literature, and an analysis of international medical recommendations regarding homeopathy. The findings revealed a stark contrast between institutional endorsements and the lack of empirical evidence supporting homeopathy’s efficacy in treating diseases.

Our work discusses the consequences of such a disparity between institutional support and scientific validation. The findings highlight the necessity of aligning health policies and endorsements with scientifically validated practices to maintain public trust and ensure the credibility of medical recommendations.

How to cite: Archontis, S. and Koutroumpelis, A.: Homeopathy in Greece: A critical evaluation of institutional support versus scientific evidence, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-3634, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-3634, 2024.

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EGU24-7375
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EOS1.8
Motti Zohar

In recent years, Twitter has surged as a formidable communication platform, hosting over 500 million users worldwide. Despite a mere fraction of tweets (1–3%) containing direct geolocation, the abundance of metadata fields, including user-generated content, holds promise for inferring crucial spatial information. This study, aligning with principles of recognizing fake news and bolstering science credibility and public awareness, utilized GeoNames and OpenStreetMap datasets alongside a curated dataset of Tweets. Leveraging these resources, it aimed to infer tweet locations from text-based meta-fields and the user’s profile of location and description, emphasizing the verification of inferred locations' reliability amidst the prevalence of misinformation. Analysis revealed a strong correlation between distances derived from textual content and user-provided location meta-fields, indicative of potential links to actual device locations and phenomena described within tweets. Emphasizing the critical principles of recognizing misinformation and verifying geolocated data in tweets, this study emphasizes the importance of fostering science credibility and public awareness. It highlights the potential for accurately inferring device locations and validating information shared in tweets thus fostering the ability to detect fake news and promoting accurate scientific information dissemination for broader public awareness.

How to cite: Zohar, M.: Recognizing misinformation using geolocation: Spatial examination of Information Inferred from Tweets meta-fields, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-7375, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-7375, 2024.