In this project, climate change denial is defined as the discourse that questions any of the basic premises of scientific consensus (that climate change exists, that its causes are human-driven, that it is the most important challenge facing humanity and that something can be done about it and we have the moral obligation to do it). This discourse is nourished and promoted by different variables, including economic interests and ideologies. Very often, economic interests promote and support ideologies that protect business and in all cases economic interests are shaped by particular ideological stances.

As stated in the 2014 IPCC report, total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions continued to increase from 1970 to 2010, with larger absolute increases between 2000 and 2010, despite a growing number of climate change mitigation policies. It therefore seems obvious that we are not taking the appropriate decisions. However, research and policies continue to point to the same decisions and mitigation policies in a perpetual denial of the failing ideas that support them.

Ideology is thus a central issue behind climate denial and has been traditionally analysed only from a political perspective. This project contributes to expanding previous knowledge by also including a sociological and philosophical analysis of the ideas behind climate denial.

THINKClima therefore looks not only at the scientific denial (denial of the scientific evidence) but also at the ideological substratum of denial in climate advocacy groups (the root ideas beneath climate inaction).