Green washing and the psychology of climate change denial

Humans live in a bubble of self-delusion in which the perceived short-term imperatives of the market have been prioritised above the need for a sustainable planet. Corporations and governments are cynically exploiting the space between public perception and scientific fact, lulling us into a false sense of security that climate change is a problem for the future, rather than an urgent that must be addressed in order for the species to secure its long-term future.

In 1978, the Australian social scientist, Alex Carey, pointed out that the 20th Century has been characterised by three developments of great political importance: “the growth of democracy; the growth of corporate power; and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.”

One of the key public relations strategies among the vested corporate interests that deny the scientific consensus on climate change, is to cynically exploit the space that exists between public perception and scientific fact, sometimes referred to as the “consensus gap.”

Read the Medium story by Daniel Margrain - “Green washing and the psychology of climate change denial.”