Why do some people deny climate change?

Behavioral science can explain why climate change skepticism exists. A series of experiments revealed that those who feel optimistic about the projection of climate change spent less time focusing on arguments for climate change than non-optimists. The behavior of the first cohort shows “optimism bias.” The term refers to the tendency to be overly confident about our likelihood of experiencing a positive event and avoiding a negative event. In other words, optimism bias affects individuals’ ability to learn from undesirable information.

Similarly, “confirmation bias” is the tendency to favor information that supports our existing beliefs and ignores information to the contrary. For example, some climate change deniers claim that climate change stopped in 1998. They believe that the warming rate was slower between 1998 and 2012 than the rate of the previous two to three decades. However, scientists pointed out that the rate of warming over the longer term (1880 – 2017) was close to the rate between 1998 and 2012. Moreover, 1998-2012 was the warmest 15-year period on record at the time. Despite this evidence, many maintain their prior beliefs against the existence of climate change.