Episode 132: Interview with Professor Katharine Hayhoe on how to have a conversation on the highly politicised and divisive subject of climate change

In this interview, Professor Katharine Hayhoe, one of climate change’s most effective communicators, provides inspired guidance on how to navigate all sides of the conversation on a topic that is currently one of the most politicised and divisive. Katharine discusses her new book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, illustrated her arguments with stories from her personal experiences. Katharine argues we need to go beyond facts and statistics and begin essential climate conversations with shared values, connect the issue to our individual identities, and help inspire collective action. For Katharine,  urgency of action is paramount: “The key conclusion of the IPCC is simply this. Every year counts, every action matters, every choice can make a difference.”

 

Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist—and a professor of political science at Texas Tech University, where she is co-director of the Climate Science Center. She has served as lead author on the Second, Third, and Fourth National Climate Assessments. Katharine also hosts and produces the PBS Digital Series, Global Weirding, and serves on advisory committees for a broad range of organizations including the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, the Earth Science Women’s Network, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has recently become Chief Scientist, at the Nature Conservancy, the world's largest conservation organization- her new book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World has just been published.