Tag: Climate Change Disinformation

The law and economics of the data economy: introduction to the special issue

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Abstract

This article intends to provide a framework to better understand the economic problems and legal challenges resulting from the transition of the European economy to a data economy. We discuss some policy concerns surrounding the data economy, such as concentration in the data economy, anticompetitive business practices in the data economy, access to data and data sharing, data reliability, distributional effects of the data economy, and cybercrime. Moreover, we provide an overview of some important EU legal initiatives and reforms and clarify how the papers in this special issue contribute to assessing these initiatives from an economic point of view.

“In the end, the story of climate change was one of hope and redemption”: ChatGPT’s narrative on global warming

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Abstract

AI chatbots such as ChatGPT help people produce texts. According to media reporting, these texts are also used for educational purposes. Thus, AI influences people’s knowledge and perception of current issues. This paper examines the narrative of ChatGPT's stories on climate change. Our explorative analysis reveals that ChatGPT’s stories on climate change show a relatively uniform structure and similar content. Generally, the narrative is in line with scientific knowledge on climate change; the stories convey no significant misinformation. However, specific topics in current debates on global warming are conspicuously missing. According to the ChatGPT narrative, humans as a species are responsible for climate change and specific economic activities or actors associated with carbon emissions play no role. Analogously, the social structuration of vulnerability to climate impacts and issues of climate justice are hardly addressed. ChatGPT’s narrative consists of de-politicized stories that are highly optimistic about technological progress.

Populism, moral foundations, and vaccine hesitancy during COVID-19

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Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy is a significant global health concern, with over 90% of countries reporting such hesitancy. In the United States, vaccine hesitancy has risen significantly, with over 79 million cases and 950,000 deaths in 2022. This highlights the political importance of vaccine hesitancy in the coming years. Moral foundations are associated with political alignments on the left-right axis, but they do not extend to beliefs about political contexts. Populism, a belief in the power of the people to take back power from the elite, is particularly important in the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores possible associations of vaccine hesitancy with both moral foundations and populism using survey research. Results from multiple regression analysis show that while moral foundations are not entirely accounted for, populism can impact vaccine hesitancy outside of its overlap with moral foundations. The study reveals a significant association between vaccine hesitancy and populism and four moral foundations. It suggests that vaccine hesitancy is linked to populist sentiment and moral orientations and suggests that further research could explore the relationship between these factors. The study also suggests that the challenge of vaccine hesitancy is not solely about vaccines, but rather exacerbated skepticism and lack of trust in institutions and elite knowledge. The findings could help policymakers and practitioners understand the motivational factors influencing vaccine hesitancy, focusing on moral reasoning and sociopolitical narratives rather than swaying people with scientific elite knowledge. Emphasizing messages about vaccination as a form of loyalty to family, friends, and country could be more effective.

Antecedent Ideological Profiles and Negative Socio-political Outcomes of LGBTQ+ Conspiracy Beliefs

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Abstract

Introduction

Conspiracy theories and beliefs (CTBs) about LGBTQ+ people are often used as arguments in political debate in Italy and across Europe to hinder the passing of protective laws and negatively affect popular consensus regarding the promotion of anti-discrimination policies and the advancement of civil rights.

Method

We conducted two correlational studies in Italy starting the data collection at the end of 2022. In Study 1 (N = 589), we investigated which ideological profile was more associated with LGBTQ+ CTBs, between the two profiles identified by Duckitt et al.’s model (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(1), 75–93, 2002): path A) high vision of the world as a competitive jungle and consequent high social dominance orientation; path B) high vision of the world as dangerous and consequent high right-wing authoritarianism. In Study 2 (N = 1581), we have also included three potential outcomes associated with LGBTQ+ CTBs in the model.

Results

Through a mediational path model, we found that path B was the strongest associated with LGBTQ+ CTBs. We found that LGBTQ+ CTBs mediated the relationships between the two ideological dispositions and (a) lower support to LGBTQ+ civil rights; (b) lower LGBTQ+ collective action intentions; and (c) higher adherence to economic myths about LGBTQ+ people.

Conclusions

Socio-psychological research on LGBTQ+ CTBs may inform social policies that work to lessen the harm these beliefs do and advance a more welcoming and inclusive society.

Policy Implications

Such results offer several insights to change and improve the actual debate in political, scientific, and cultural domains, contributing to producing new policies which might increase the self-determination of all LGBTQ+ people.

Stakeholders’ perceptions of hydrogen and reflections on energy transition governance

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Abstract

Background

There is a race to innovate, develop or create hydrogen production technologies to accelerate energy transition and create a hydrogen economy. Acceptance has been used in social science literature as a lens through which to anticipate possible challenges surrounding hydrogen technologies. However, very few studies problematize perceptions and focus on the production of hydrogen. Hence, this study aims to bridge these theoretical and empirical gaps using a mixed-method approach based on semi-structured interviews (n = 7) and a questionnaire survey (n = 73) to understand stakeholders’ perceptions of hydrogen production sources through a social construction of technology lens.

Results

The findings suggest a tendency to favor hydrogen produced from renewable sources and to reject hydrogen produced from non-renewable sources. All the examined groups conform to this pattern. Their perceptions are based on prior knowledge of hydrogen technologies, with participants seeking information from specialized sources or from activities promoted by their organizations. Participants anticipate that hydrogen will be generated primarily through renewable energy sources and utilized where direct electrification is unfeasible. In addition, they envisage that the hydrogen economy will enhance energy democracy through representative participation in decision-making. Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that the topic is limited to certain social groups and kept away from the public eye. Furthermore, unlike the benefits, the perception of risk appears to have no impact on perceptions’ construction. High confidence in science appears to minimize the recognition of potential risks and bolster the recognition of potential benefits. There is, however, a lot of uncertainty about the possible real impacts of the hydrogen economy.

Conclusions

There appears to be a collective perspective on hydrogen production sources, indicating the existence of social representations. Nevertheless, group attitudes and backing towards hydrogen vary. The participants identify hydrogen as a matter that remained unnoticed for over a decade, despite its prominent position in the policies and economic approaches of numerous countries. The topic has been relegated to third parties. This exclusion of civil society from decision-making may justify the NGO group's critical stance towards hydrogen. Moreover, it suggests that energy democracy, which is based on information dissemination and participation, is not being achieved.

Cost sensitivity, partisan cues, and support for the Green New Deal

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Abstract

Opponents of climate policy proposals frequently ground their objections in terms of costs. However, it is unclear whether these objections are persuasive to individuals considering whether to support such programs. Not only do people have difficulties in understanding large numbers, partisans in particular may place more weight on the originator of a given proposal—supporting it if their own party proposed it, and opposing it otherwise. We test these dynamics using a survey experiment that varied the costs associated with real-world climate policy proposals attributed to each of the two major US political parties, compared to a control group where no cost was made salient. Our study allows us to disentangle the effects of cost perception and partisan identity on policy preferences. We find little evidence that respondents are systematically sensitive to program cost. Rather, we find that climate policy preferences are shaped by partisan identities, with respondents showing little sensitivity towards increasing costs. The results provide reason for skepticism that cost-based objections to climate spending programs are persuasive at scale, after accounting for partisan cue-taking.

COVID-19 response in Africa: impacts and lessons for environmental management and climate change adaptation

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic adds pressure on Africa; the most vulnerable continent to climate change impacts, threatening the realization of most Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The continent is witnessing an increase in intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, and environmental change. The COVID-19 was managed relatively well across in the continent, providing lessons and impetus for environmental management and addressing climate change. This work examines the possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment and climate change, analyses its management and draws lessons from it for climate change response in Africa. The data, findings and lessons are drawn from peer reviewed articles and credible grey literature on COVID-19 in Africa. The COVID-19 pandemic spread quickly, causing loss of lives and stagnation of the global economy, overshadowing the current climate crisis. The pandemic was managed through swift response by the top political leadership, research and innovations across Africa providing possible solutions to COVID-19 challenges, and redirection of funds to manage the pandemic. The well-coordinated COVID-19 containment strategy under the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention increased sharing of resources including data was a success in limiting the spread of the virus. These strategies, among others, proved effective in limiting the spread and impact of COVID-19. The findings provide lessons that stakeholders and policy-makers can leverage in the management of the environment and address climate change. These approaches require solid commitment and practical-oriented leadership.

The role of digital social innovations to address SDGs: A systematic review

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Abstract

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the search for solutions to social problems associated with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Main actors are turning to Digital Social Innovations (DSIs), defined as collaborative innovations where enterprises, users and communities collaborate using digital technologies to promote solutions at scale and speed, connecting innovation, the social world and digital ecosystems to reach the 2030 Agenda. This study aims to identify how digital transformations and social innovations solve social problems and address SDGs. We conducted a systematic review based on a sample of 45 peer-reviewed articles published from 2010 to 2022, combining a bibliometric study and a content analysis focusing on opportunities and threats impacting these fields. We observed the spread and increasing use of technologies associated with all 17 SDGs, specially blockchain, IoT, artificial intelligence, and autonomous robots that are increasing their role and presence exponentially, completely changing the current way of doing things, offering a dramatic evolution in many different segments, such as health care, smart cities, agriculture, and the combat against poverty and inequalities. We identified many threats concerning ethics, especially with the increased use of public data, and concerns about the impacts on the labor force and the possible instability and impact it may cause in low skill/low pay jobs. We expect that our findings advance the concept of digital social innovations and the benefits of its adoption to promote social advancements.

Cultural Theory, Wildfire Information Source, and Agency Public Trust: A Central Oregon Case Study

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Abstract

With the increasing occurrence and severity of wildfires in the U.S., and especially in the forests and rangelands of the western U.S., it is important to know which wildfire information sources are trusted by households and the amount of trust placed on natural resources agencies to manage for wildfire. The Theory of Motivated Reasoning suggests that people will trust and use those information sources that conform to their own value and ideological orientations. Similarly, trust in natural resource agencies’ ability to manage wildfire may also be the result of cultural traits. This study uses Cultural Theory as a theoretical perspective to determine those value systems, and how cultural traits motivate people to use and trust various wildfire information sources and the agencies tasked with managing wildfire. Using random sample surveys of Wildland-Urban-Interface (WUI) households in fire-prone Deschutes County in central Oregon, the study finds that egalitarians are significantly more likely than those with other cultural traits to use and trust natural resource agency information sources, while individualists are more likely to use and trust family members and neighbors for their information. Similarly, egalitarians are trusting of natural resource managers to use prescribed fire, manage naturally ignited fires, and to thin forests to reduce fuels. Individualists are less trusting of government agencies to use the same approaches to reduce fuels. The study concludes with some suggestions for how wildfire policy makers and managers can use these findings to communicate more effectively important wildfire information to audiences with differing cultural traits and differing levels of natural resource agency trust.

Identifying public trust building priorities of gene editing in agriculture and food

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Abstract

Gene editing in agriculture and food (GEAF) is a nascent development with few products and is unfamiliar among the wider US public. GEAF has garnered significant praise for its potential to solve for a variety of agronomic problems but has also evoked controversy regarding safety and ethical standards of development and application. Given the wake of other agribiotechnology debates including GMOs (genetically modified organisms), this study made use of 36 in-depth key interviews to build the first U.S. based typology of proponent and critic priorities for shaping public trust in GEAF actors and objects. Key organizational actors provide early and foundational messaging, which is likely to contribute heavily to public salience, comprehension, and decision-making as potential consumers reflect upon their experiences, envision future outcomes, and consider the reputation of those trying to influence them. As is documented in our results, the trust-building priorities of these groups often stand in opposition to one another and are influenced by distinct motivations for how the public will come to trust or distrust GEAF actors and objects as more products are developed and enter the market.