The attention given to climate science by policymakers has been increasing in recent years, but not yet fast enough. The reflections of Andrea Bigano, CMCC and RFF-CMCC EIEE researcher, about how a traditional scientific communication should go hand in hand with different climate change narratives across creative communities to foster urgent climate action, in an interview by Energy Cities.

“The political agenda now contains goals that were regarded as extreme just a few years ago […]. We need to put our best hopes and efforts into making sure that this trend accelerates before the window for action closes, because no more time can be wasted.”

Andrea Bigano is a scientist at the CMCC Foundation and at the RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment (EIEE). He was interviewed by Energy Cities, a learning community dedicated to empowering cities and citizens to shape and transition to futureproof cities, on how much space is given to science in policy-making nowadays, and what formats work best for scientific communication to create interest and engagement.

“Authoritative and rigorous information is the fuel that keeps the scientific knowledge-generating process running, and we need to be mindful of its fundamental role. At this level, we need to make extra efforts to reach out beyond the respective jargons of the various scientific disciplines, because climate science is probably the most interdisciplinary field that exists” affirmed Bigano.

“On the other hand, it is crucial that the messages of the scientific community are made interesting, relevant, and understandable for everyone. To this end, I think we should remain open to all communication means and put no limit on creativity. After all, climate change is an existential threat: it is our existence and that of our offspring that is at stake. Arts, literature, music, movies are about conveying powerful feelings and emotions, like those aroused by existential trajectories torn apart by climate change. The connection is clear and there is increasing awareness about climate change narratives across creative communities. Thus, it is important that scientists and creative people sit down together to explore all possible means of communicating in a simple way the urgency of climate action to readers, viewers, music fans and social media followers. The faster this becomes a clear and real priority for all, the faster it will rank as a priority in the politicians’ agenda”

Read the full interview “It is important that scientists and creative people sit together”