Climategate, Public Opinion and the Loss of Trust

The document outlines the context for a survey conducted between December 24, 2009, and January 4, 2010, involving 1,001 American adults. It frames this study against a "perfect storm" of events in late 2009, including the "Climategate" email breach at the University of East Anglia, errors in the IPCC 4th Assessment Report, the failure of the Copenhagen treaty negotiations, and the stalling of U.S. climate legislation. The survey aims to measure changes in risk perceptions and policy preferences compared to a baseline survey of 2,164 adults from late 2008.

• The study was prompted by a series of negative events in 2009 that created a "perfect storm" for climate action, including the "Climategate" scandal involving breached emails from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, IPCC errors regarding Himalayan glaciers, and the failure of the Copenhagen treaty negotiations.
• The researchers conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,001 American adults from December 24, 2009, to January 4, 2010, using a baseline survey of 2,164 adults from October and November 2008 to evaluate changes in public opinion, risk perceptions, and behaviors.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2010). Climategate, Public Opinion and the Loss of Trust. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climategate-public-opinion-and-the-loss-of-trust/

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Climategate, Public Opinion and the Loss of Trust. 2010. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climategate-public-opinion-and-the-loss-of-trust/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Climategate, Public Opinion and the Loss of Trust |date=7 July 2010 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climategate-public-opinion-and-the-loss-of-trust/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2010climategate, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Climategate, Public Opinion and the Loss of Trust}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2010}, month = jul, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climategate-public-opinion-and-the-loss-of-trust/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }