University of Ljubljana holds an international conference on communicating the climate crisis and extreme weather

Dr Dejan Jontes, head of the organising committee, started out by saying that, following the first international science communication conference in 2022, which focused on new approaches to science communication in response to the phenomenon of ‘post-truth’, the topic of this year’s conference would be even more current. ‘Although all the research shows that climate “doomism” and predictions about the end of the world are inadequate ways of approaching the problem, the scientific consensus has for some time been that the climate crisis presents a threat to humanity; at the same time, we are witnessing extreme weather events across Europe, the United States and elsewhere in the world. The purpose of this conference is to discuss the role of science communication in tackling the social and systemic challenges of the climate crisis.’

Professor Ksenija Vidmar Horvat, Vice-Rector for Academic and Student Affairs: ‘Climate change is with us, it won’t go away and it could become our new normal. However, that does not mean that we have to accept it.’ She emphasised the importance of the conference, as it presented an excellent opportunity to help forge a relationship between science and the public, particularly in terms of ‘creating a space in which we can work together and find a common consensus on what to do.’ 

The keynote speakers (James Painter from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in Oxford, University of Ljubljana meteorologist and climatologist Tjaša Pogačar, Anastasia Denisova, lecturer in journalism at the University of Westminster’s Communication and Media Research Institute, and Matjaž Ličer from the Slovenian Environment Agency and the National Institute of Biology) discussed the range of scientific approaches, as well as issues around how to communicate the science of the climate crisis and extreme weather events. 

James Painter gave an analysis of visual communications of extreme weather in Europe, the UK and India in the media and journalism, highlighting the importance of positive stories that provoke action, discussion and thought.

Anastasia Denisova responded to Painter’s presentation indirectly: ‘The public are often exposed solely to one or another form of communication,’ she said, arguing that ‘journalists [had] to learn how to address the issues primarily in a way that [explained] things in a multi-layered and scientific way, with a desire to seek out solutions.’ She added: ‘The media need to know how to communicate the fact that concern about climate change is the default mindset of the majority of people.’ For Denisova, dramatisation and catastrophism do not encourage cooperation but shift the responsibility elsewhere. 

Tjaša Pogačar devoted her speech to the growing risk of temperature stress in a changing climate, drawing attention to those people in various sectors who are increasingly performing their tasks in unsuitable working conditions. ‘Air temperature and the resulting thermal load are growing to extremes in Slovenia. Climate change projections show that this trend will continue and the number of days with risky levels of heat stress will also increase, mainly in employment sectors that require hard physical labour.’

Matjaž Ličer presented the latest findings of oceanographers regarding the extreme rises in sea level occasioned by climate change. ‘When communicating the climate crisis, the scientific community also has to deal with uncertainties and risks without clouding the urgency of the measures that need to be taken and stirring up feelings of hopelessness.’