Challenging the neutrality myth in climate science and activism

We argue that Büntgen’s (2024) claim that climate science must be separated from activism is fundamentally flawed. Activism does not inherently lead to biased science and striving for value-free science is both unattainable and undesirable. Instead, we advocate for redefining the boundaries of acceptable influence of values in scientific communication and offer practical strategies to move beyond the misleading myth of neutrality.

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Publication Details

Journal
npj Climate Action
Published
2024-10-05
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-024-00171-9
Citations
17
Primary Topic
Climate Change Communication and Perception
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
19.24

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article

Challenging the neutrality myth in climate science and activism

Christel W. van Eck, Lydia Messling, Katharine Hayhoe
17 citations
npj Climate Action
Climate Change Communication and Perception
19.24
article

Challenging the neutrality myth in climate science and activism

Christel W. van Eck, Lydia Messling, Katharine Hayhoe
article en
17 citations

Abstract

We argue that Büntgen’s (2024) claim that climate science must be separated from activism is fundamentally flawed. Activism does not inherently lead to biased science and striving for value-free science is both unattainable and undesirable. Instead, we advocate for redefining the boundaries of acceptable influence of values in scientific communication and offer practical strategies to move beyond the misleading myth of neutrality.

npj Climate ActionVol. 3(1)
Texas Tech University (US), The Nature Conservancy (US), Coventry (United Kingdom) (GB)
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Climate Change Communication and Perception
19.24
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