Public awareness and perception of climate change: a quantitative cross-national study

Abstract

Research on the extent and sources of international differences in climate change awareness and perception among general publics could improve understanding of the opportunities and challenges of formulating politically feasible and effective international climate policies. However, few studies have attempted to explain cross-national variation in climate change public opinion. This study builds on the relatively small body of existing research on this topic by investigating several cross-national predictors of public awareness and perception of climate change with ordinary least squares (OLS) and robust regression models using national-level data from the 2007–2008 and 2010 Gallup World Polls, which provide the largest available international datasets on climate change public opinion. The following results were most consistent across the surveys and models: 1) awareness of climate change is greater in countries that are wealthier and more highly educated, and is not influenced by political orientation or vulnerability; 2) perceived risk is greater in countries that are wealthier, left-leaning, and more vulnerable to climate change, and not affected by unemployment; 3) perceived human cause is greater in countries that are wealthier, left-leaning, more vulnerable, and more highly educated. The effects of education on perceived risk and unemployment rate on awareness and perceived human cause were not consistent.