olial, Executive Summary
On May 30-31, 2008, a workshop on Sociological Perspectives on Global Climate Change was held at NSF in
Arlington, Virginia. The workshop was funded by an NSF grant from the Sociology Program to Drs. Joane Nagel,
University of Kansas; Jeffrey Broadbent, University of Minnesota; and Thomas Dietz, Michigan State University.
The purpose of the workshop was threefold: identify ways to 1) increase sociology’s capacity to conduct climate
change research, 2) motivate research that contributes solutions to a global problem of historical importance,
and 3) expand sociological participation in interdisciplinary research and education about global climate change.
Workshop participants were asked to answer two questions in their short papers and workshop deliberations:
What is the state of sociological research on global climate change? What are the major research questions
that sociologists should be asking and seeking to answer about climate change? The workshop was intended
to contribute to advancing sociological research on global climate change, and thus to advancing the research
capacity, tools, and infrastructure in the social sciences.This report is organized into four sections; the first three parallel the organization of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change 2007 Fourth Assessment Report’s Summary for Policymakers^1 which identifies causes,
impacts, and mitigation and adaptation strategies for climate change.Part I outlines the current state of sociological knowledge and opportunities for future research about the social
causes of global climate change; several theoretical and empirical research areas in sociology are referenced
both for the knowledge they have already generated and for their potential to contribute to further research on the
causes of climate change: global political economy, human ecology and environmental impact models, cultural
and meaning systems, macro-comparative policy research, social organization of science and science policy.Part II identifies the current state of sociological knowledge and opportunities for future research about social
impacts of global climate change; relevant theoretical and empirical research areas in sociology are referenced
both for the knowledge they have already generated and for their potential to contribute to further research on the
causes of climate change: environmental justice, disaster research, human health, security and conflict, and social
demography and population research.Part III summarizes the current state of sociological knowledge and opportunities for future research about the
social dimensions of mitigation and adaptation to global climate change; several theoretical and empirical
research areas in sociology are referenced both for the knowledge they have already generated and for their
potential to contribute to further research on mitigation and adaptation efforts: global governance, risk assessment
and decision making, cultures of consumption, contributions to advocacy and action research, and organizations
and networks.Part IV contains recommendations to sociologists and to funding agencies, including NSF, for advancing
sociological research on global climate change including recommendations for catalyzing the discipline of
sociology, forging interdisciplinary collaborations, and developing the capacity and infrastructure to increase
sociology’s contribution to understanding and responding to global climate change.(^1) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, Summary for Policymakers (Cambridge
University Press, 2007).
Executive Summary