Media coverage of mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef may
have been a major tipping point for public concerns around climate
change, according to research published today.
While the physical effects of the bleaching have been well documented, we wanted to understand the social and cultural impact.
Our research, including a study published today in
Nature Climate Change, has compared survey responses from thousands of
Australians and international visitors, before and after the bleaching
event.
Reef grief
Our research team conducted face-to-face interviews with 4,681 visitors
to the Great Barrier Reef region, in 14 coastal towns from Cooktown to
Bundaberg, over June to August in both 2013 and 2017. We asked more than
50 questions about their perceptions and values of the Reef, as well as
their attitudes towards climate change.
We found a large proportion of respondents, including Australians and overseas visitors, expressed forms of grief in
response to loss and damage to the iconic ecosystem. Negative emotions
associated with words given in short statements about “what the Great
Barrier Reef means to you”, included sadness, disgust, anger and fear.
Emotional appeals are widely used in media stories and in social media
campaigns, and appealing to fear in particular can heighten a story’s impact and spread online.
However, a side-effect of this approach is the erosion of people’s
perceived ability to take effective action. This is called a person’s
“self-efficacy”. This effect is now well documented in reactions to representations of climate change, and is actually a barrier to positive community engagement and action on the issue.
In short, the more afraid someone is for the Great Barrier Reef, the
less they may feel their individual efforts will help to protect it.
While our results show a decline in respondents’ self-efficacy, there
was a corresponding increase in how highly they valued the Reef’s
biodiversity, its scientific heritage and its status as an international
icon. They were also more willing to support action to protect the
Reef. This shows widespread empathy for the imperilled icon, and
suggests greater support for collective actions to mitigate threats to
the Reef.
Researchers surveyed thousands of visitors to the Great Barrier Reef in 2013 and 2017.Matt Curnock, Author provided
Changing attitudes
We observed a significant increase in the proportion of people who
believe that climate change is “an immediate threat requiring action”.
In 2013 some 50% of Australian visitors to the Great Barrier Reef region
agreed climate change is an immediate threat; in 2017 that rose to 67%.
Among international visitors, this proportion was even higher (64% in
2013, rising to 78% in 2017).
This represents a remarkable change in public attitudes towards climate
change over a relatively short period. Previous surveys of Australian climate change attitudes over 2010 to 2014 showed that aggregate levels of opinion remained stable over that time.
Comparing our findings with other recent research describing
the extent of coverage and style of reporting associated with the
2016-2017 mass coral bleaching event, we infer that this event, and the
associated media representations, contributed significantly to the shift
in public attitudes towards climate change.
Moving beyond fear
As a source of national pride and
with World Heritage status, the Great Barrier Reef will continue to be a
high profile icon representing the broader climate change threat.
Media reports and advocacy campaigns that emphasise fear, loss and
destruction can get attention from large audiences who may take the
message of climate change on board.
But this does not necessarily translate into positive action. A more
purposeful approach to public communication and engagement is needed to
encourage collective activity that will help to mitigate climate change
and reduce other serious threats facing the Reef.
Examples of efforts that are underway to reduce pressures on the Reef
include improvements to water quality, control of crown-of-thorns
starfish outbreaks, and reducing poaching in protected zones. Tourism
operators on the Reef are also playing an important role in restoring
affected areas, and are educating visitors about threats, to improve
Reef stewardship.
Clearly there remains an immediate need to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions to ensure the Reef’s World Heritage qualities are maintained
for future generations.
However, maintaining hope, and offering accessible actions towards
attainable goals is critical to engaging people in collective efforts,
to help build a more sustainable future in which coral reefs can
survive.
The
authors would like to acknowledge Nadine Marshall, who co-wrote this
article while employed by CSIRO. We thank our other co-authors of the
Nature Climate Change paper, including Lauric Thiault (National Center
for Scientific Research, PSL Université Paris), Jessica Hoey and
Genevieve Williams (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority), Bruce
Taylor and Petina Pert (CSIRO Land and Water) and Jeremy Goldberg (CSIRO
& James Cook University). The scientific results and conclusions,
as well as any views or opinions expressed herein, are those of the
authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Australian
Government or the Minister for the Environment, or the Queensland
Government, or indicate commitment to any particular course of action.
June 24, 2019 4.10pm EDT
