This poster presents the early stages of development of a doctoral project on climate change communication. I am investigating the role that public trust in scientific and political institutions plays in creating engaged, active and adaptive communities.

Trust is central to the communication of climate change. Our understanding of global warming is mediated through scientists, politicians and the media. We become ‘believers’ or ‘deniers’ based less on facts than on the ­– often hazy – notion of trust. Building public trust is becoming increasingly important as organisations seek to build people’s capacity to act and adapt to a changing climate.

I examine claims about the existence of a ‘crisis of trust’ in science, in the wake of the ‘Climategate’ scandal and its impact on public trust of the IPCC and related organisations.

I summarise the literature on public trust in organisations from the perspectives of science and technology studies, social psychology, organisational science and brand management. Should scientific organisations rethink their relationship with the public?