Perceived need for climate information

Abstract

Understanding that human activities primarily cause climate change is fundamental to driving behavioral change. However, a significant gap exists regarding its anthropogenic nature, with public understanding often lagging behind the scientific consensus. This underscores that previous efforts to bridge this gap have not been effective, highlighting that the reception of information is a complex process influenced by individual perspectives, biases, and preconceptions. Therefore, an individual’s information behavior is crucial in the interrelationship between climate science and the public. This study investigated the factors explaining individuals’ perceived need for information to form a firm opinion about climate change. It explored the roles of information gap, climate anxiety, and environmental adversity in shaping these needs. The study’s analysis is based on the 2021 Climate Change Opinion Survey (N = 76,328) from Meta’s Data for Good Program. The survey was conducted on Facebook, inviting active users aged 18 and above to participate through their news feeds. It was administered across 31 countries. For the analysis, multinomial logistic regression was employed. The results showed that a high climate information gap and anxiety are positively associated with information needs. Environmental adversity is also positively correlated with climate information needs, but one’s awareness of climate change moderated the association.