The Relationship Between Climate Change And Global Warming

Climate change and global warming are terms for the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth's climate system and its related effects. Over the past 100 years, the global average temperature has increased by approximately 0.68◦C and continues to rise at a rapid rate (Baldo et al., 1998). Scientists name the increase of global temperature as global warming, while climate change can be a more general term that refers to changes in a broad range of climate conditions over time. Many researches mixes them (Weber, 2010). In this essay, climate change and global warming both refer to the same idea that global temperature has increased due to both natural and human activities.

Climate change can be a major environmental

Research indicates that people perceived climate changes as a distant threat. People tend to take it as something affects others, happens in future generation and in remote places (Brügger, Dessai, Devinewright, Morton, & Pidgeon, 2015). Liberman and Trope (2008) defined four dimensions of psychological distance, including spatial distance (i.e. near or remote places), temporal distance (i.e. current or future events), social distance (i.e. relatives, acquaintances or strangers), and uncertainty (likelihood or unlikelihood of occurrence). All four dimensions are interrelated. Changing one aspect will result in changing of psychological distance. We will focus on research about spatial distance which is often discussed in this field and has more relevant research. Climate change is considered as spatially distant which means people, at least westerners, consider climate change happens at global level rather than local level, happens in other country or places other than in their own country. From Leiserowitz, Maibach, Roser-Renouf, and Smith (2011), 23% American people think global warming will harm people in developing countries at a great deal, while only 12% think the same-level harm will happen in their own

Study showed that risk perception is an important and direct determinants of environmental behavior, such as recycling behavior and car-using (Liobikienė & Juknys, 2015). Thus, spatial distant perception of climate change is problematic, when it lower the perception it changes people’s attitudes towards climate change and their motivation to act (Brügger, Dessai, Devinewright, Morton, & Pidgeon,