Dr. Maibach is a distinguished University Professor and Director of Mason’s Center for Climate Change Communication (Mason 4C). A Principal Investigator of the Yale/George Mason Climate Change in the American Mind polling project, Dr. Maibach also co-led the development of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, and Climate Matters—a climate reporting resources program that supports TV weathercasters as local climate educators.
Dr. Maibach is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Member of the both National Academy of Medicine and the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. In 2020, he was awarded the Beck Family Presidential Medal of Excellence in Research and Scholarship—Mason’s top research honor—as well as the Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication (with Anthony Leiserowitz). In 2021, news agency Thompson Reuters identified him as one of the world’s 10 most influential scientists working on climate change.
Dr. Maibach earned his PhD in communication science at Stanford University (1990), his MPH at San Diego State University (1983), and his BA at University of California, San Diego (1980). He previously had the pleasure to serve as Associate Director of the National Cancer Institute, and Worldwide Director of Social Marketing at Porter Novelli, and he currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Global Climate and Health Alliance.
Selected Publications
Epel, E, White, K., Brownell, K., Rodin, J., Hollis, A., et al (including Maibach, E) (in press) Transforming health psychology and behavioral medicine to address the climate crisis: A call for strategic research and advocacy. Co-published in Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Health Psychology, and Psychosomatic Medicine.
Lee, S., et al (including Maibach, E) (in press) Can large language models capture public opinion about global warming? An empirical assessment of algorithmic fidelity and bias. PLOS Climate.
Mede, N., Cologna, V., Berger, S., Besley, J., Brick, C., Joubert, M., Maibach, E., Mihelj, S., Oreskes, N., Schäfer, M., van der Linden, S. et al. (in press) Perceptions of science, science communication, and climate change attitudes in 67 countries – the TISP dataset. Scientific Data
Ayers, M., Marlon, J., Ballew, M., Maibach, E., Rosenthal, S., Roser-Renouf, C., Leiserowitz, A. (2024) Changes in Global Warming’s Six Americas: An analysis of repeat respondents. Climatic Change. 177, 96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-024-03754-x
Maibach, E., Kotcher, J., Patel, L. (2024) We can use our superpower to help end fossil fuel pollution and rise to the challenge of climate change. Journal of Communication in Health Care, 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/17538068.2024.2357949.
Kotcher, J., Patel, L., Wheat, S., Philipsborn, R., Maibach, E. (2024) How to communicate about climate change with patients. The BMJ. DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2024-079831
Cologna, V., Kotcher, J., Meade, N., Besley, J., Maibach, E., Oreskes, N. (2024) Trust in climate science and climate scientists: A narrative review. PLOS Climate. 3(5): e0000400. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000400
Maibach, E. (2024) Accelerating the end of the fossil fuel era: A human and planetary health imperative and opportunity. Frontiers in Science. doi.org/10.3389/fsci.2024.1383921
Myers, T., Roser-Renouf, C., Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E. (2024) Emotional signatures of climate policy support. PLOS Climate. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000381
Lee, S., Goldberg, M., Rosenthal, S., Maibach, E., Kotcher, J., Leiserowitz, A. (2024) Climate change belief systems across political groups in the United States. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0300048
Badullovich, N., Tucker, D., Amoako, R., Ansah, P., Davis, B., Horoszko, U., Zahiyyah, H., Maibach, E. (2024) How Does Public Perception of Climate Protest Influence Support for Climate Action. npj Climate Action. 3:16 https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-023-00096-9
Kotcher, J., Badullovich, N., Ahmed, M., De Alwis, D., Maibach, E. (2024) Role model stories can increase health professionals’ interest and perceived responsibility to engage in climate and sustainability actions. Journal of Climate Change and Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2023.100291
Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., Myers, T., Kotcher, J., Reed, D. (2024) The “think-and-do tank” model: Action-oriented climate communication research. Environmental Communication. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17524032.2024.2304571
Kotcher, J., Luong, K., Gould, R., Charles, J., Maibach, E. (2023) Health professionals calling attention to opponents of climate action improves the effectiveness of climate and health messages. Lancet Planetary Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(23)00217-6
Ortiz, L., Stiles, R., Whitaker, S., Maibach, E., Kinter, J., Henneman, L., Krall, J., Bubbosh, P., Cash, B. (2023) Public health benefits of zero-emission electric power generation in Virginia. Heliyon. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20198
Myers, T., Roser-Renouf, C., Maibach, E. (2023) Emotional Responses to Climate Change Information and Their Effects on Policy Support. Frontiers in Climate. Vol. 5: https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2023.1135450
Maibach, E., Campbell, E., Uppalapati, S., Kotcher, J. (2023) Active learning and effective communication to optimize climate change action. Journal of Climate Change and Health. doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2023.100207
Howard, C., MacNeil, A., Hughes, F., Alqodmani, L., Charlesworth, K., de Almeida, R., Harris, R., Jochum, B., Maibach, E., et al. (2023) Learning to treat the climate emergency together: Networked social tipping interventions by the health sector. Lancet Planetary Health. https://doi.org/10.1016?S2542-5196(23)00022-0.
Campbell, E., Kotcher, J. E., Myers, T., Munson, S., Borth, A. C., Rosenthal, S. A., Leiserowitz, A., & Maibach, E. (2023) The Potential Role of Descriptive and Dynamic Norms in Promoting Climate Change Advocacy. Oxford Open Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfclm/kgad001
Campbell, E., Uppalapati, S., Kotcher, J., Maibach, E. (2023) Communication research to improve engagement with climate change and human health: A review.
Frontiers in Public Health. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1086858
Courses Taught
- Comm 700: Developing and Testing Social Science Theory
- Comm 660: Climate Change & Sustainability Communication
- Comm 670: Social Marketing
- Comm 641: Advanced Communication Skills for STEM Professionals
Education
- BA, Psychology, 1980, University of California, San Diego
- MPH, Health Promotion, 1983, San Diego State University
- PhD, Communication Science, 1990, Stanford University
In the Media
- Cook, J., van der Linden, S., Leiserowitz, A. & Maibach, E. (2017) Why the 97% climate consensus is important. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/oct/02/why-the-97-climate-consensus-is-important
- Maibach, E., Leiserowitz, A. & Marlon, J. (2017) By 5 to 1, voters say the U.S. should stick with the Paris Agreement. Grist. http://grist.org/article/by-5-to-1-voters-say-the-u-s-should-stick-with-the-paris-agreement/
- Maibach, E., Leiserowitz, A. & Marlon, J. (2017) Should the US stay in the Paris Agreement? A majority of Democrats and Republicans think so. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/should-the-us-stay-in-the-paris-agreement-a-majority-of-democrats-and-republicans-think-so-77455
- van der Linden, S., Maibach, E. & Leiserowitz, A. (2016) Climate change’s unseen consensus. U.S. News & World Report. https://www.usnews.com/opinion/knowledge-bank/articles/2016-02-18/teachers-need-to-communicate-the-scientific-consensus-on-climate-change
- Maibach, E. (2015). Voters to GOP: “I’m not a scientist” just won’t cut it on climate change. Los Angles Times. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-maibach-gop-climate-change-position-20151016-story.html
Dissertations Supervised
Saahi Uppalapati, Assessing and Mitigating Climate Change Psychological Distress: Scale Development and Pilot Intervention (2025)
Margaret Orr, Trusted Sources as Mythbusters: Evaluating Climate Myth Debunking on Social Media by Trusted Climate Information Sources (2024)
Eryn Campbell, Health Professionals as Advocates for Climate and Health Solutions: The Influence of Social Norms on Health Professional Engagement in And Public Support for Climate Advocacy (2023)
Kristin M. F. Timm, Sources and Frames in a Contested Framing Space: An Analysis of the U.S. Media Coverage of The Fourth National Climate Assessment (2021)
Justin Rolfe-Redding, Communicating Hope about Societal Issues: The Case of Climate Change (2019)
Lindsey Beall, The Examination of Message Strategies Used by Environmental Organizations to Communicate with Members (2019)
John Kotcher, Reducing Resistance to Communication about Climate Change Using an Applied Self-affirmation Intervention (2016)
Neil Stenhouse, Powerful Feelings: Extending the Extended Parallel Processing Model to Collective Action on Climate Change (2015)
Jagadish Thaker, Climate Change in the Indian Mind: Role of Collective Efficacy in Cimate Change Adaptation (2012)