Concern and Helplessness: Citizens' Assessments of Individual and Collective Action on the Provision of Environmental Public Goods in a Coastal City at Risk of Inundation.

Sabrina Bunyan,David Duffy,Alan Collins

doi:10.1007/s00267-016-0730-2

Sabrina Bunyan, David Duffy + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-016-0730-2

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Abstract

Survey data from a representative sample of 1005 households in the UK coastal city of Portsmouth are examined to discern commonalities and contrasts in their assessment of actions to address the related environmental threats of climate change and flooding. The city of Portsmouth is at risk of inundation from rising sea levels and the city has recent experience of flooding. A simple local and global public good framework is used to organize the understanding of reported attitudes and their determinants. The findings show that it is not always the same individuals who express concern about both climate change and flooding. Investigation into perceptions of helplessness in tackling climate change indicates that individuals more often perceived themselves to be helpless in tackling climate but perceived local collective action to be more effective. Individuals considered local collective action to be more effective in tackling climate change. Perceptions of individual helplessness are in turn related to reported concern. Several socioeconomic characteristics of individuals are shown to be useful in explaining the determinants of concern and perceptions of helplessness among respondents. As other cities face climate change-related challenges, the empirical findings, based upon attitudes from an alert urban population, are informative to policy design.

Highlights

Climate change and its associated effects are a major issue of risk facing global populations
A simple local and global public good framework is used to organize the understanding of reported attitudes and their determinants, at a city level, where experience of flooding and an understanding of the risks presented by climate change are prevalent
Considering the global public good context of tackling climate change, these results indicate that females and younger respondents may be less conscious of both their individual and the local city council’s helplessness

Summary

Introduction

Climate change and its associated effects are a major issue of risk facing global populations. There are calls for action to tackle climate change through mitigation and adaptation efforts. To ensure that appropriate efforts are achieved in the UK, and elsewhere, an understanding of public perceptions of climate change is critical (Kellstedt et al 2008; Whitmarsh 2009; IPCC 2014; Le Dang et al 2014). Engaging citizens in climate change issues remains difficult. A simple local and global public good framework is used to organize the understanding of reported attitudes and their determinants, at a city level, where experience of flooding and an understanding of the risks presented by climate change are prevalent

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Discussion

Conclusion