Susanne moser
During FY07, Dr. Susanne (Susi) Moser continued her research and community service in the areas of climate change communication in support of societal response, adaptation to the impacts of climate change, especially in coastal areas and in different regions of the US, and on the interaction of science and decision-making.
Climate Change Communication and Social Change
Over the past several years, with climate extremes and the latest IPCC assessments in the news, with business and political action spouting at all levels of governance and in all sectors of society, and popular films like The Day After Tomorrow and the docu-drama An Inconvenient Truth, climate change has firmly become established on the public agenda. Public perceptions of the reality and seriousness of global warming are catching up with mainstream scientific consensus. There is still ample evidence, however, that a deeper understanding of climate change – of the science, impacts, and possible response strategies – and an active engagement through personal behavior change or political action remain superficial and spurious at best. Traditional means of communicating climate science continue to be largely ineffective at reaching the broader public and stimulating behavioral/personal, organization, institutional and political change. What can we learn from practitioners and experts in a variety of fields about more effective communication strategies in order to facilitate and support societal response to this global problem?
In FY07, Dr. Moser edited, together with University of Colorado — Boulder assistant professor Dr. Lisa Dilling, a ground-breaking anthology on climate change communication in support of societal response to this global challenge (www.isse.ucar.edu/communication/book/ ). The book, and several related articles, are directly in line with NCAR's strategic goals to cultivate a scientifically literate and engaged citizenry, and enhance societal resilience to climate and weather. Since publication of Creating a Climate for Change, Dr. Moser has presented the book's key findings to lay, academic, advocacy, government and business audiences, both nationally and internationally. This outreach will continue in FY08 with the expected publication of the book's paperback version.
The project was funded by the MacArthur Foundation, NCAR's Environmental and Societal Impacts Group (now ISSE) and Walter Orr Roberts Institute, and the National Science Foundation.
Regional Impacts of Climate Change and Adaptation Strategies
Actual evidence of the impacts of climate change manifesting in different regions is emerging faster than expected, and not only in areas far from the U.S. or in particularly sensitive ecosystems. This is changing public debate about what might constitute a comprehensive risk management strategy for climate change, and how various mitigation (minimizing the pace and ultimate magnitude of human-caused climate change) and adaptation (preparing for, and responding to, the emerging impacts of climate change in particular places) strategies may be implemented.
Consistent with NCAR's overall strategic goal to inform this debate and thereby enhance societal resilience to a changing climate, Dr. Moser continued her research in FY07 into questions such as: How are communities, states, and nations preparing for and responding to the growing threat from climate change? What are the barriers and limits to societal adaptation, and how can they be addressed? How can science best inform choices among adaptation strategies?
In her work on adaptation in coastal areas, Dr. Moser focused on the state of preparedness for the impacts of sea-level rise and related coastal hazards in California ( http://www.isse.ucar.edu/moser/california/), and based on that work, also contributed to the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report (working group on vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation), chapter 6 on coastal areas ( www.ipcc.ch/ ). She also continues to contribute to the U.S. Climate Change Science Program-sponsored synthesis and assessment product 4.4, which addresses potential impacts on publicly owned land, such as National Forests, and possible adaptation strategies. In another major effort, Dr. Moser oversaw as a member of the synthesis team for the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment ( www.climatechoices.org/ne/) a comprehensive regional assessment of the potential impacts of global warming on nine Northeastern U.S. states from Pennsylvania to the Canadian border. In that assessment, she also continued her research on the potential limits and barriers to adaptation.
In FY08 she will continue to present the findings from each of these research efforts, further explore the limits and barriers to adaptation, and launch a new research project on societal resilience. The work on these projects has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the State of California , the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and various private foundations.
Science-Policy Interactions
Building on her previous research on science-policy interactions in the Global Environmental Assessment Project at Harvard University, and on her research regarding the assessment and management of uncertainties in the human dimensions of global change, during FY07 Dr. Moser continued her work on the question of how science can best serve society (stakeholders, policy- and decision-makers at various levels of government). This research focus goes to the heart of NCAR's overall mission and is consistent with the strategic goal of increasing societal resilience to weather, climate, and other atmospheric hazards through a clear identification of information needs and a better understanding of decision processes.
Contributing to NCAR's Weather and Climate Impacts Assessment Science Program, she continued the development of a stepwise procedure to determine where and when scientific information (and information about the uncertainty associated with that science) is needed in the decision-making process. DUST - the Decision Uncertainty Screening Tool - is meant to serve as a heuristic that can help scientists and decision-makers communicate and interact more effectively. Furthermore, in her efforts at building collaborative ties between NCAR and the NOAA-funded Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessment (RISA) Program – she also continued her research on effective stakeholder engagement processes with the Pacific and Alaskan RISA centers ( www.isse.ucar.edu/risa/).
Both these strands of research will continue in FY08. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West, Inc.
Selected Peer-reviewed Publications:
Moser , S.C. and A.L. Luers (in press). “Managing Climate Risks in California : The Need to Engage Resource Managers for Successful Adaptation to Change.” Climatic Change, in press.
Moser , S.C. , Roger E. Kasperson, Gary Yohe, and Julian Agyeman (in press). “Adaptation to Climate Change in the Northeast United States : Opportunities, Processes, Constraints.” Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, in press.
Vogel, C., S.C. Moser, R. Kasperson, and G. Dabelko (2007). Linking vulnerability, adaptation and resilience science to practice: Players, pathways and partnerships.” Global Environmental Change 17: 349–364.
Moser , S.C. (2007). “In the long shadows of inaction: The quiet building of a climate protection movement in the United States.” Global Environmental Politics 7(2): 124-144.
Bulkeley, H. and S.C. Moser (2007). “ Responding to climate change: Governance and social action beyond Kyoto.” Global Environmental Politics 7(2): 1-10.
Moser , S.C. and J. Tribbia (2006/2007). “Vulnerability to inundation and climate change impacts in California : Coastal managers' attitudes and perceptions.” Marine Technology Society Journal 40(4): 35-44.
Moser , S.C. (2006). “Talk of the city: Engaging urbanites on climate change.” Environmental Research Letters 1(1); at: http://www.iop.org/EJ/toc/1748-9326/1/1 .