A study from the University of Cambridge and Caltech looked at what American voters think. It found that people who don’t trust universities are more likely to believe that humans aren’t causing climate change, and they don’t see it as a problem.

Even though there are more extreme weather events like wildfires and hurricanes getting worse because of global warming, almost half of American voters (45%) don’t think climate change is a problem, and 41% believe it’s a natural thing, not caused by people.

“This lack of trust in higher education and evidence-based research makes the public more vulnerable to opinion-based arguments from powerful actors who disproportionately profit from climate denialism,” the researchers explain.

Trust in institutions

The researchers analyzed a wide range of possible variables, including gender, education, and age, but by far the most significant factor driving apparent climate denialism was the trust, or lack of, in institutions.

They believe that this lack of trust in climate science is undermining efforts to implement various climate action policies, such as congestion charging.

“If voters don’t believe in the proven outcomes of fundamental research, then how can politicians make the changes we need in the next decade to stop climate change?” the researchers explain.

The study also mentioned a 2016 survey in the U.S. It found that 57% of conservative Republicans thought that climate scientists were changing their research to help themselves. And 22% of Americans didn’t trust climate scientists much.

In the study, some climate scientists talked about how frustrated they were with people not believing in climate change and not trusting their research. They said there’s a problem in how society and science work together, which needs fixing.

To fix it, the study’s authors suggest that universities and scientists should communicate better with the public. They want people to learn how to tell facts from opinions, teach students more about how science works in schools, and get trusted religious leaders and influencers to tell people about the proven facts of climate science.

“If science wants to move the dial on the climate crisis, then we need to get out of our ivory towers and make regaining the public’s trust a key mission for every university,” the authors conclude.