Multidimensional Cross-Country Measurement of Climate Change Perceptions

Abstract

ABSTRACT Understanding public perceptions of climate change is crucial for more targeted communication and better-informed policymaking. Moreover, the perceptions of climate change encompass different aspects and thus need to be defined and measured using a multidimensional approach. In this paper, we introduce the Climate Perceptions Index (CPI), a composite measure that comprehensively assesses the public perceptions of climate change, based on a sample of over 100 thousand active Facebook users across 107 countries. We construct the CPI as an aggregate of three distinct dimensions that quantify the awareness of climate change, risk perception, and commitment to action. The results show that the extent of climate change perceptions varies significantly across countries and across dimensions. Countries with the highest and lowest scores globally can be found in almost all regions, and across all levels of socio-economic development. Furthermore, we analyze the relationships between the CPI dimensions and find that the influence of risk perception on commitment to action is the strongest at the lowest levels of climate change awareness. This highlights the possibility of climate change risk normalization at higher levels of awareness, and further shows that effective policies and strategies must not only focus on raising knowledge about climate change, but also overcome the normalization of its threats.