Abstract
Effective communication about climate change and related risks is complicated by the polarization between “climate alarmists” and “skeptics.” This paper provides insights for the design of climate risk communication strategies by examining how the interplay between climate change and flood risk communication affects citizens’ risk perceptions and responses. The study is situated in a delta area with substantial geographic variations in the occurrence and potential impact of flood risk, which has led to initiatives to make the area more “climate proof.” We developed a research model that examines individual differences in processing information about climate change related flood risk, based on the postulate that individuals often make an implicit trade-off between motivation to know “what is real” and motivation to maintain prior beliefs. A field experiment, embedded in a survey (n = 1887), sought to test out how the participants responded to risk frames in which a story on flood was either or not combined with climate change information. The results show that it was possible to increase the participants’ local climate risk perception in combination with increased motivation for flood damage prevention, despite a certain level of climate change skepticism. A general implication of our study is that relevant and diagnostic information about local climate-related flood risks can stimulate citizens’ need to know “what’s real” and their willingness to take responsibility for preparedness.
Highlights
Delta cities may be affected by a number of climate change impacts, including rising sea levels and property damage and casualties from extreme flood events (Dempsey and Fisher 2005; Jongman et al 2012; Smit and Wandel 2006)
Effective communication about climate change and related risks is complicated by the polarization between ‘‘climate alarmists’’ and ‘‘skeptics.’’ This paper provides insights for the design of climate risk communication strategies by examining how the interplay between climate change and flood risk communication affects citizens’ risk perceptions and responses
The study is situated in a delta area with substantial geographic variations in the occurrence and potential impact of flood risk, which has led to initiatives to make the area more ‘‘climate proof.’’ We developed a research model that examines individual differences in processing information about climate change related flood risk, based on the postulate that individuals often make an implicit trade-off between motivation to know ‘‘what is real’’ and motivation to maintain prior beliefs
Summary
Delta cities may be affected by a number of climate change impacts, including rising sea levels and property damage and casualties from extreme flood events (Dempsey and Fisher 2005; Jongman et al 2012; Smit and Wandel 2006). In several Western countries, including the Netherlands, it has been found that almost half of the population agrees with the statement that ‘‘the seriousness of climate change has been exaggerated’’ (de Boer et al 2013; Scruggs and Benegal 2012) This skepticism may work against open discussions on issues such as geographic variations in the occurrence and potential impact of flood risk (Fischhoff 2007). The present paper, aims to address this gap, focusing on conditions that facilitate more accurate (versus biased) information processing It describes an experiment carried out in the Rotterdam area of the Netherlands to increase both citizens’ local climate risk perception and their motivation for flood damage prevention, despite a certain level of skepticism. The experiment was developed to support policy makers in the region with knowledge about communicating with inhabitants on these issues
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