How do you feel seeing someone in a white lab coat at a climate protest?
Activism like this from scientists has less of an impact on the public than might be expected, according to a new study published in the Royal Society Open Science journal.
Civil disobedience by scientists has increased in recent years. Scientist Rebellion, a climate action group and sister organisation of Extinction Rebellion, operates in more than 30 countries.
Scientists have taken part in actions such as blocking roads, coal mines and private jets in an effort to rally the public and build political and economic pressure on polluters.
But the impact this kind of engagement has on the public and the credibility of their science has not really been assessed until now.
How effective are climate protests by scientists?
“Academics are perfectly placed to wage a rebellion,” Scientist Rebellion states.
“We exist in rich hubs of knowledge and expertise; we are well connected across the world, and to decision-makers; we have large platforms from which to inform, educate and rally others all over the world, and we have implicit authority and legitimacy, which is the basis of political power.”
On this basis, there have been calls from within the community for more scientists to ‘get out of the labs and into the streets’.
But are they winning over the public? To find out, researchers Fabian Dablander, Maien Sachisthal and Adam Aron - based at universities in the Netherlands and the US - surveyed nearly 3,000 people in the US, from across the political spectrum.
The team used a case study about a legal march and a civil disobedience action, with one scenario where a scientist endorsed it, one where the scientist took part in the protest, and a control scenario where only ‘normal’ citizens were involved.
The survey then assessed people’s reaction to climate policy (about expanding offshore oil and gas drilling); their support of activists; the perceived radicalness of the protest; the trustworthiness of environmental sciences in general, and the protesting scientist in particular.
Policy support remained unchanged whether scientists were involved or not, the researchers found. While activists were more strongly supported when they engaged in a legal march than in civil disobedience.
The involvement of the environmental scientist did not appear to have an effect on either their trustworthiness or on the credibility of environmental science at large.
‘There are no silver bullets’ for climate action, researchers say
“Will scientists joining protests or acts of civil disobedience galvanise the public into climate action? Evidently not - at least not by themselves. There are no shortcuts and no silver bullets,” the researchers conclude.
Shifting the dial on climate change requires “the painstaking building of bottom-up power”, they say, to force leaders to act in a matter of human survival.
“Scientists who [engage in climate actions] should not overestimate their leverage; on its own, engaging in high-profile protests as scientists may have less impact on the public than one would like to believe,” they add.
Yet, given what they know, many environmental scientists feel it is important to continue their work both in and out of the lab, contributing to the potential of nonviolent civil resistance to catalyse change.
Some of those protesting with Scientist Rebellion are willing to risk arrest for the cause. The organisation currently lists dozens of scientists from across Europe, particularly in Germany, who are on trial.
What do scientists say?
“Scientists taking to the streets sends an important message and shows activists that the scientific consensus is on their side. However, it’s not enough. We need action from across society,” says Dr Marthe Wens, assistant professor of water and climate risk at the Institute for Environmental Studies at VU Amsterdam.
“Journalists, teachers, doctors, artists, construction workers - including you, reading this. To secure a livable future, we must rapidly phase out fossil fuels. Join us!”
“I fully believe that scientists' involvement in climate protests is crucial and can be effective in driving system change,” adds Blessed Chidhoni, head of Climate Action Directorate at Afrinype.
“While the impact of protests alone may be limited, the combination of scientific expertise and public activism is a powerful force for driving policy changes and inspiring collective action.”
He uses the example of Congo basin (DRC) peatlands, an ecosystem threatened by extractivism. Scientists have been at the forefront of raising awareness about the importance of protecting these peatlands for mitigating climate change, he says.
Their involvement in climate protests has “humanised the issue, making it more relatable and urgent to the general public.”
