Andrew Dessler has made significant contributions in communicating climate change to the general public, an undertaking of great importance to the scientific community. He has emerged as one of the most influential climate communicators in the state of Texas and a global voice on the issue. Dessler began his interest in climate communications while working in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under the Clinton administration in 2000. During that time, he became acutely aware of the importance of communicating accurate science to policymakers. After he returned to his job at the University of Maryland, he took what he learned there and wrote a book that focused on the intersection of climate science and climate policy. His book The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate has sold about 14,000 copies in universities around the world. Another of his books, Introduction to Modern Climate Change, has sold more than 30,000 copies. When Dessler moved to Texas in 2005 to join the faculty at A&M University, he recognized the opportunity to change minds in a traditionally conservative state. He made contact with various environmental groups in Texas and began explaining climate science to the Texas legislature in multiple hearings in the 2000s. In addition to his efforts to communicate to legislators and in the classroom, Dessler began communicating climate science more broadly. In 2006, he started his own blog to discuss climate science. Soon after it started, Grist invited him to move his blog there, which he did, and he started blogged there for about 3 years. He began writing op-eds and over the years has written dozens of them for Texas papers. He brought his ideas to urban newspapers, such as his 2009 op-ed explaining the implications of Climategate in the Houston Chronicle. Over time, Dessler has developed a relationship with the editorial board of the San Antonio Express-News, one of the biggest papers in Texas. He has written op-eds with impact in response to important events. In 2019, in response to Gov. Greg Abbott’s statement that it was impossible to know whether humans were impacting climate, Dessler spearheaded a letter to the governor signed by 26 climate experts offering to brief him on the science of climate change. The dedication of Andrew Dessler in communicating climate science has promoted public awareness of science-based results and facilitated decision-making by policymakers for climate protection.  

— Gerald R. North and Renyi Zhang

Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas

Response

I’d like to thank AGU and the selection committee for awarding me AGU’s Climate Communication Prize. I’d also like to thank my nominators, Jerry North and Renyi Zhang, as well as my many colleagues who have supported my efforts to communicate the threat of climate change. The previous winners of this award include many friends and heroes of mine, so it is humbling to join their ranks.

When I communicate, my goal is this: explain to anyone who will listen that climate change is not a scientific problem — thanks to the work of many AGU members, we largely understand what’s going on in the climate system. It’s also not a technical problem — we know how to generate energy without emitting greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Climate change is a political problem. The political elite has prioritized their own future over the future of humanity. That’s why the most important message I convey is that if you care about the climate, you should vote for candidates who share your concern.

Gone are the days when being a popular public communicator was a detriment to your career. Most in the scientific community now recognize the crucially important role that communication plays in maintaining public support for science. In fact, I think it can be good for your career. At this point, I’m sure I’m better known for my Twitter feed than for my peer-reviewed publications.

To those who want to communicate more about climate science, I have a message: DO IT! With social media, anyone can be a communicator. Find your voice and speak out! But also understand that no single individual will turn the tide of the debate by themselves. Instead, think of your climate communication efforts as being akin to a raindrop falling on a mountain. No individual raindrop will affect the mountain. But enough raindrops, working together, can wear the mountain down.

Together, we must wear down the mountain of inaction. Climate change is an irreversible, multigenerational problem. We are in the privileged position of being one of the last, if not the last, generation able to take action to avoid dangerous climate change. We need to ensure that we do so. So please go talk to someone about climate change.

— Andrew E. Dessler
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas