I wrote the other day about the lack of a definition by the RMetS of 'climate literacy'. I was wrong, it seems (thanks to all those with better memories than me for pointing it out). RMetS said what it means to them it in the DfE-funded climate literacy survey that they carried out in 2022 (which they are now repeating I'm told). It is:
Understanding of the Earth’s climate and the impact of global warming
Well, perhaps. Do you get the impression that someone said as literacy is about understanding and climate change is caused by global warming, why not just stick these together? It rather looks like it. If so, it's all rather underwhelming and lacking in much by way of a conceptual basis.
The trouble is that adding 'literacy' to a noun – financial literacy / economic literacy / sustainability literacy / carbon literacy / design literacy / literacy literacy / etc – is just too easy. Actually, I made literacy literacy up but it makes just as much sense as some of the others. Having added 'literacy' the temptation is then to think 'job done', and avoid the hard work of exploring and justifying what it all means. This takes us back to the RMetS – and many others.
At the heart of the idea of literacy, especially at its most foundational level, is reading and writing, both of which are actions which can and do lead to understanding and often to other things. Call me picky if you like, but it follows (for me at any rate) that this idea of writing / reading – coding / decoding – must be there if the addition of 'literacy' it to be justified in the examples set out above (there are many more).
So is there a way of thinking about climate literacy that does this? It might seem rather unlikely on the face of it as, whilst reading a climate makes a lot of sense (we all do this if we climate shift when going on holiday), what does writing a climate mean?
Well, here's a possibility.
The US Global Change Research Programme talks about it this way:
Climate Science Literacy is an understanding of your influence on climate and climate’s influence on you and society.
A climate-literate person:
- understands the essential principles of Earth’s climate system,
- knows how to assess scientifically credible information about climate,
- communicates about climate and climate change in a meaningful way, and
- is able to make informed and responsible decisions with regard to actions that may affect climate.
That's pretty good I think and the last point neatly captures the idea of writing.
I'm minded to write to RMetS to suggest they borrow it ...
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