One of the most ingenious communication initiatives on climate change is titled “Show Your Stripes.” It was conceived and implemented by British climate scientist Ed Hawkins from the University of Reading.
Instead of complex diagrams, percentages, and complicated explanations, temperature data for cities, countries, and continents can be visualized through coloured stripes, almost at the press of a button. The scientifically grounded result is strikingly simple and therefore powerful. Colder years are represented in shades of blue, warmer years in shades of red. In this way, the sharp shift toward global warming becomes immediately perceptible even to the most skeptical observer.
Almost one in five citizens in Greece (17.8%) would likely not be convinced by these blue and red stripes about climate change. This is indicated by the first systematic study on the acceptance of conspiracy theories surrounding the phenomenon in Greece, conducted by Theodore Arabatzis as part of his postgraduate studies in Environmental Policy and Biodiversity Conservation at the Department of Environment of the University of the Aegean, under the supervision of Dr. Iosif Botetzagias. Arabatzis is a graduate of Journalism from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), with professional experience in the field of communication. He currently works at the Secondary Education Directorate of Drama.
Three key characteristics
Even more interesting is the finding that, in addition to the small but not negligible group of outright believers, about one in four respondents (22.5%) falls into the “grey zone of uncertainty.” But what is the profile of citizens in Greece who accept conspiracy-based explanations of climate change?
According to the study, conducted in November and December of last year on a nationwide sample of 1,010 citizens aged 18 and over, this profile does not correspond to a “fringe” or “eccentric” type, nor is it explained by a lack of formal education.
It includes “ordinary” citizens who are nevertheless characterized by three main traits: low trust in scientists, high conspiracy predisposition, and political self-placement mainly on the right of the political spectrum. To this triad are added populism as an attitude and cognitive closure, meaning an aversion to uncertainty and ambiguity. Age and gender are recorded as secondary factors, with older men appearing more receptive to conspiracy explanations of climate change.
Ideology as a distorting lens
“The acceptance of these theories is not due to a lack of information. It is a way of life, an ideological stance that functions like a distorting lens and can significantly alter our perception and judgement,” the researcher tells “V”. “At the center of all this lies distrust in science. Lack of trust in scientists is the clearest predictive factor for the adoption of conspiracy theories.”
According to the study’s data, an impressively high 56% of respondents exhibit a strong general conspiracy predisposition, compared to just 11% with low predisposition, while the remaining 33% fall into the middle “grey zone.” As Mr Arabatzis notes, “conspiracy theories about climate change are not an isolated phenomenon. They are directly linked to a broader conspiratorial mindset that characterizes a large part of our fellow citizens.” He adds: “More than half of Greeks adopt some conspiracy views, while only one in ten rejects them entirely. This means that a widespread sense of suspicion has already been established.”
Unpublished data shared with “V” by the researcher are indicative of this high general conspiracy predisposition in Greek society. Eighteen percent of respondents believe it is true that the spread of certain viruses and/or diseases is the result of deliberate, covert efforts by some organization, while 12% believe there is evidence of contact between humanity and extraterrestrials which is being concealed from the public. These findings are significant because they show that climate-related conspiracy thinking builds on an already established worldview.
The “toolbox” is already in place
As Quassim Cassam, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick and one of the leading scholars in political epistemology, has argued, conspiracy theories are not merely cognitive errors or omissions, but counter-establishment narratives with a strong political function that reinterpret events as the product of hidden plans by elites and centers of power. Therefore, citizens already inclined to interpret the world through conspiratorial frameworks do not “discover” a specific theory about the environment, but rather integrate climate change into an already available interpretive toolbox used for issues such as economic policy, public health, and technology.
Fear under economic pressure
But how is it explained that 40% of the sample considers it true that recent major wildfires in Greece were the result of an organized plan to install wind turbines on burned land?
The thinking of Philip Kitcher, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Columbia University and one of the leading figures in contemporary philosophy of science, helps explain why such views gain wide traction.
Kitcher has argued that climate action is hindered not only by science denial but also by citizens’ fear that the cost of the green transition will fall on them. When someone experiences economic pressure, the idea that wind turbines are a scheme by the powerful against ordinary people may function as an emotional defense, before it even becomes an ideological framework.
And as Mr Arabatzis warns, in modern Western societies manipulation is not achieved through less information, but “through a flood of contradictory messages, erosion of trust, confusion that leads citizens into paralysis and ultimately resignation.”
