Does it matter if you “believe” in climate change? Not for coastal home vulnerability

Abstract

Public attitudes toward climate change are the subject of considerable study. An essential and understudied question is whether these attitudes influence public behavior. We answer this question with respect to a particular behavior, action to protect coastal homes from the increasing risk of hurricanes and rising seas. Coastal homeowner behavior is critically important because homeowner risk reduction in most cases is not mandated by government regulations or insurance requirements and instead largely reflects individual voluntary decisions. Analyzing novel data from the 2017 Coastal Homeowner Survey of 662 respondents in one of the most frequently exposed US coastal communities, New Hanover County, North Carolina, we find that climate change knowledge and attitudes have no significant effect on the existing level of a home’s structural vulnerability nor on homeowner actions or stated intentions to reduce structural vulnerability in the future. We discuss the implications for efforts by governments, insurance companies, and other stakeholders advocating for coastal resiliency.