ABSTRACT
Amidst calls by the scientific community for help from social scientists, climate change is increasingly gaining the attention of leadership scholars, who have begun to consider climate change and other environmental problems as leadership challenges that elicit specific forms, approaches, and styles of leadership in response. This chapter deals with an overview of the first-generation climate leadership of Al Gore, James Hansen, and Bill McKibben, who can be broadly characterized as propounding a "tragic" and "catastrophizing" discourse. Dr. James Hansen is one of the preeminent climate scientists of his generation, and was one of the first and most vocal figures in bringing the science of climate change to public attention. Empirical studies show that although [fear-inducing] representations have potential for attracting people's attention to climate change, fear is generally an ineffective tool for motivating genuine personal engagement. Reliance on mass information campaigns and political leadership at the highest levels has not yet led to substantial mitigation of climate change.
