Climate of the Middle: Understanding Climate Change as a Common Challenge

17 June 2021

There is broad support for dealing with climate change. There is consensus among scientists, support among the population and international agreements have been concluded on a sharp reduction in emissions. However, there is still a long way to go, in which the way in which policy is implemented, the technical possibilities and affordability are constantly under discussion. An additional problem is the polarisation in the public debate, a sharpening of positions which generates media attention but makes it increasingly difficult to find the right middle ground.

For a climate policy from the middle, three questions will need to be answered. How do extreme opinions about climate arise and how can we deal with them? Who in our societies is responsible for climate policy? How can climate policy build on the existing norms and values in society so that there is support for far-reaching changes and innovations? These questions form the starting point for the contributions in this volume.

Several scientists participated in this volume: Wouter Botzen, Francisco Estrada, Jan Gooijer, David Leiser, Dirk Schoenmaker, Arjen Siegmann, Hans von Storch and Pascal Wagner-Egger. From different disciplines (psychology, economics, law and climate science) they approach topics such as the assessment of catastrophic risks, conspiracy thinking, the nature of the climate problem, the role of the central bank, corporate taxation in a circular economy and the need for technological breakthroughs.