Climate change presents a dire political problem. If we are unable to check carbon emissions, increasing temperatures could produce devastating effects around the globe. Effective global climate action requires international coordination; compliance with an international agreement, requires public support of climate policy; and public support of climate policy depends on individuals’ climate beliefs. How can experiments shed light on the political challenges involved in addressing climate change? This chapter examines experiments investigating climate beliefs, climate action, and climate coordination, focusing on what we have already learned and where experiments can usefully contribute more.

Climate change is now a significant concern for almost every government, many major international organizations, industries of every variety, thousands of nongovernmental organizations and many millions of people around the world. Climate change has moved from being a minor scientific issue in international relations, national politics and human affairs to being, as we move through the 2020s, one of the most high-profile political issues globally. In short, climate change is now high politics. Governments have negotiated agreements to study climate change and to put in place policies that limit the greenhouse gas pollution that causes it. All of this has been driven to a great extent by climate science. However, despite the high profile of climate change and actions around the world to address it, the responses of countries and other actors, including businesses and individuals, have failed to keep up with the increasing pace of change. Special interests and climate denial have gotten in the way.