ABSTRACT
Most climate researchers currently argue that global warming is caused by human activities (Oreskes, 2005); climate policy, however, is confronted with conflicting knowledge and values. WWViews provided a unique opportunity to explore citizens’ perceptions of global warming in different cultures and contexts and to incorporate a broader base of values into global climate policy. Although a full resolution of the many conflicts of climate change may not be feasible even through a highly participatory approach, decisions can be better legitimized if they are negotiated more transparently and supported by an open dialogue process. WWViews aimed to do this by incorporating a group that has not had a direct say in this political process so far, global citizens; not to act as a replacement for the established decision-making system, but to complement it.
