Climate Change Communication Research Unit

Decarbonisation of our society is necessary to mitigate climate change caused by human activities, and support for policies by members of society and changes in consumption patterns are considered important to speed up this process. This unit will work on communication to facilitate this, as there has not been enough research on this in Japan.
However, it is not only intended to effectively communicate persuasively to get people to accept climate change measures, but also to conduct a comprehensive study on the nature of communication, paying careful attention to the influence of people’s values, trends in discourse in the media, and so on. The main focus will be on Japan, but the project will also collaborate with groups conducting similar research in other countries. Research activities will also be undertaken to ensure that scientific findings, such as future projections of climate change, are appropriately and effectively reflected in the countermeasure actions of businesses and governments, including adaptation measures.

Based on research findings, such as people’s scientific understanding of climate change, their perception of risks and their opinions on countermeasures, the relationship between these and individual attributes and values, and the discourse on climate change in the media and on social networking services, the project aims to provide social recommendations that will guide communication on climate change.