Climate Change Risk Perception Research Articles

Extreme weather experience and climate change risk perceptions: the roles of partisanship and climate change cause attribution

Extreme weather experience and climate change risk perceptions: the roles of partisanship and climate change cause attribution

A Study on the Effect of the MZ Generation's Risk Perception of Climate Change on the Eco-Friendly Tourism Behavior Intention: Applying the Norm Activation Model

A Study on the Effect of the MZ Generation's Risk Perception of Climate Change on the Eco-Friendly Tourism Behavior Intention: Applying the Norm Activation Model

Exploring risk-scapes in Oklahoma: institutional trust, environmental justice, climate change, and infrastructure

Purpose Across the USA, local municipalities and providers struggle to reliably supply water and electricity when faced with severe weather events induced by climate change. Previous research suggests those at higher risk for experiencing the detrimental effects of climate change have higher climate-related concerns. Additionally, research demonstrates variation in trust in institutions and perceptions of environmental justice along racial lines, which can influence concern for access to resources. Informed by this research, the authors ask two questions: how do Oklahomans’ trust in institutions, environmental justice perceptions and global climate change risk perceptions differ based on race, and how do these factors influence concern for water and electrical infrastructure? The purpose of this study is to better understand Oklahomans’ trust in information from institutions, environmental justice perceptions, global climate change risk perceptions and concern for water and electrical infrastructure. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a series of nested regression models to analyze the survey responses of 2,687 Oklahoman adults. The data were pulled from Wave 3 of the Oklahoma Meso-scale Integrated Socio-geographic Network survey, which is part of the National Science Foundation EPSCoR S3OK project. Findings The findings demonstrate the complex interplay of riskscapes – or risk landscapes – that encompass institutional trust, perceptions of environmental justice, climate change and infrastructure in Oklahoma. The authors find evidence that education and income are better predictors of institutional trust and environmental justice than race among our respondents. Political ideology emerges as a significant predictor across all hypotheses. Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding of complex dynamics involving race, perceptions of environmental justice, trust in information from institutions, risk perceptions of climate change and concerns for water and electrical infrastructure in Oklahoma.

American Perceptions and Attitudes about Domestic Climate Migrants and Migration

Abstract Domestic climate migration is likely to increase in the future, but we know little about public perceptions and attitudes about climate migrants and migration. Understanding how perceptions and attitudes are formed is a critical task in assessing public support for assistance policies and developing effective messaging campaigns. In this paper, we aim to better understand how the U.S. public perceives domestic climate migrants. We use novel survey data to identify the relationship between climate change risk perceptions and awareness of “climate migrants,” belief that domestic climate migration is currently happening in the United States, perceived voluntariness of domestic climate migrant relocation, and support for the development of assistance programs for domestic climate migrants. We utilize a large, nationally representative panel of U.S. adults (N = 4074) collected over three waves in 2022. We find that climate change risk perceptions and perceptions of whether migration is voluntary are key drivers of perceptions and attitudes toward domestic climate migrants. We provide key suggestions to policy makers and decision-makers to improve outcomes for host and migrant communities. Significance Statement This study illuminates factors that influence the how the public forms perceptions and attitudes about domestic climate migrants in the United States. For the first time, we offer insight into the drivers of public opinion toward domestic climate migrants and migration. Our results indicate that the various perceptions of climate migrants are largely driven by preexisting climate change risk perceptions and respondent characteristics. Our findings create a new connection with the existing literature on climate change risk perceptions and offer an opportunity for decision-makers and policy makers to create effective messaging campaigns on topics related to domestic climate migration in the United States.

Socioenvironmental Drivers of Farmers’ Perceptions of Climate Change Risk in Agroforestry Parklands of West Atacora in Benin (West Africa)

Socioenvironmental Drivers of Farmers’ Perceptions of Climate Change Risk in Agroforestry Parklands of West Atacora in Benin (West Africa)

Air Pollution and Climate Change Risk Perception among Residents in Three Cities of the Mexico Megalopolis

Recent reports of the criteria pollutants in the Megalopolis, located in the central part of Mexico, consistently show air quality standard exceedances in most of the cities that make it up, since it is a large concentration where approximately 17% of the national population resides and because it has significant commercial and industrial development. To investigate the similarities and disparities in risk perception concerning air pollution and climate change among residents living in Central Mexico, a cross-sectional survey study was carried out within three metropolitan areas encompassed by the Megalopolis. A total of 1750 questionnaire surveys were conducted across 21 municipalities within the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA), 16 municipalities within the Toluca Valley Metropolitan Area (TVMA), and 8 municipalities within the Cuernavaca Metropolitan Area. The three metropolitan areas showed significant differences in terms of air quality perception, risk perception, attitudes, and causal attribution perception, but health-related perception did not have significant differences among the areas. The MCMA exhibited higher knowledge about air pollution, although it associated the causes with urban activities such as car usage, while the Toluca and Cuernavaca areas linked this issue to the burning of garbage, coal, wood, and agricultural activities. Although residents expressed concern about air pollution, climate change, and their effects, they do not know how to act to contribute to the solution.

Perception of climate change-related forest dieback in mountain forests among the local population

Mountain forests provide multiple benefits but are threatened by climate change-induced forest dieback. Although many studies summarize perceptions of forest ecosystem services, relatively few deal with mountain forests. The local population’s perception of forest dieback in mountain forests in relation to climate change has rarely been investigated so far. Their perspective is relevant as local people are often deeply attached to “their” forests, they actively use forest ecosystems and—as voters and taxpayers—they need to support the state’s adaptation and funding measures. Therefore, this study investigates the climate change and forest dieback perception of local inhabitants in two mountain areas of Southern Germany (the German Alps and the Bavarian Forest) with a quantitative survey based on representative online samples (n = 709). Relying conceptually on van der Linden’s (J Environ Psychol 41:112–124, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2014.11.012) climate change risk perception model, the results show that experiential processing, cognitive and socio-cultural factors are related to locals’ forest dieback and climate change perception, while socio-demographics show no or few connections. Nearly two-thirds (64.7%) of the respondents perceive moderate to strong forest dieback, while more than half (55.0%) of the respondents already observe consequences of climate change. The perceptions of climate change and forest dieback are positively correlated with medium to high strength. This shows that forest dieback could be interpreted as an indicator of climate change, which is difficult to observe due to its long-term nature. We identify three groups of respondents regarding preferred forest adaptation strategies to climate change. In general, respondents support nature-based forest adaptation strategies over intense measures.

Effects of communicating the rise of climate migration on public perceptions of climate change and migration

Climate change-induced migration is a rapidly increasing phenomenon estimated to affect millions of people in the coming decades. With increasing media coverage of climate migration, including within the United States, it is critical to understand how to effectively communicate about this issue. In two high-powered experiments of U.S. Democrats and Republicans (& leaners; Study 1: N = 1452; Study 2: N = 1873), we test the effects of fictional news coverage about domestic and international climate-induced migration on climate change and migration risk perceptions, warmth toward migrants, and policy support. We also tested whether including a personal story about a specific migrant alongside numerical trends could increase support for climate change mitigation and aiding potential migrants. Impacts on climate outcomes were minimal: in Study 1, those exposed to different message frames reported similar climate policy support and risk perception in Study 1, and, in Study 2, domestic (but not international) climate migration coverage slightly increased climate risk perceptions and marginally increased mitigation policy support compared to a no-message baseline. In both studies, international migration was perceived as riskier to Americans than domestic migration, and coverage of international migration heighted this perceived risk. Coverage of domestic climate migration, on the other hand, did not boost risk perceptions of that type of migration. Furthermore, coverage of international climate migration led to greater support for adaptation infrastructure to help potential migrants stay home but did not affect support for policies to help migration. Contrary to expectations, the inclusion of personal stories did not affect warmth toward migrants in either study. Political affiliation dominated associations with all climate change and migration outcomes, likely obscuring potential framing effects. These results suggest that coverage about climate-induced migration may face challenges in shifting entrenched public opinion and policy support. Communicators should be aware of the limitations of using this type of coverage to promote constructive actions to address climate change and migration.

News from Home: How Local Media Shapes Climate Change Attitudes

Abstract Highlighting the local impacts of climate change has the potential to increase the public’s awareness of and engagement with climate change. However, information about local impacts is only effective when delivered by trusted sources such as copartisan political leaders. Is information about climate change conveyed by local media sources similarly beneficial? We argue that local media are well positioned to communicate the local implications of climate change, thereby enhancing the public’s risk perceptions of climate change and willingness to take climate action. We further hypothesize that climate coverage by local media, the media type that is more trusted across party lines, will have a significant influence on Republicans’ climate attitudes. Using the case of Louisiana, we first demonstrate that local and national newspapers cover climate change in substantially different ways, with local media more consistently focused on local impacts. Our survey experiment of Louisiana residents reveals that Republicans viewed the coverage of a hurricane in the region more positively when it came from a local newspaper rather than a national newspaper. Furthermore, local newspapers’ climate coverage increased Republicans’ willingness to take action to mitigate climate change. These results provide insights into the effective communication of climate change to the public and the role of local media in mitigating partisan polarization.

Enhancing adaptation to climate change by fostering collective action groups among smallholders in Punjab, Pakistan

Climate change adaptation is increasingly recognized by subsistence farmers in Pakistan. The problem of climate change is severe, and smallholders are often resource constrained when it comes to adapting to it. However, such constraints can be overcome through collective responses. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the impact of collective action among smallholder farmers to determine how it influences local adaptation processes. This study explores the impact of farmer’s collective action groups (CAGs) on adopting climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices in poverty-stricken areas of rural Punjab, Pakistan. The data was collected through a cross-sectional survey, and for the analysis purpose, the Recursive bivariate probit regression (RBP) model was employed. The first stage estimates of RBP models suggest that the farmer’s decision to participate in CAGs is mainly influenced by factors such as education, credit access, climate change risk perception, and peer influence. The second stage estimates showed a positive and significant impact of farmers’ participation in collective action groups on adopting climate change adaptation strategies across all three models. The study concludes that the farmers participating in collective action groups have a higher climate change adaptation level. It is recommended that the pro-poor policies be designed to negate the entry barriers, facilitate the inclusion of the farmers in the collective action groups, and enhance climate change adaptation among smallholders.

Effectiveness of psycho-educational program on climate change distress and risk perception among older adults

BackgroundClimate change is a global environmental phenomenon that affects human health. It has a negative impact on the health and well-being of older adults. Therefore, educating older adults about coping with climate change and providing psychological interventions could promote successful aging. AimTo determine the effectiveness of psycho-educational program on climate change distress and risk perception among older adults. MethodsA quasi-experimental research design, "pre-test and post-test was followed. The study used the Climate Change Distress, the Impairment Scale, and the Risk Perception Scale. Data were collected from 80 older adults aged 60 years and above at three elderly clubs in Damanhour City, El-Behaira Governorate, Egypt. ResultsThe difference in mean severity of climate change distress, impairment, and risk perception scores between the study and control groups after the psycho-educational program was statistically significant. ConclusionPsycho-educational interventions can reduce climate change distress and impairment among older adults and increase their risk perception.

Exploring east African climate change risk perceptions to inform effective climate services

A better understanding of the decision context within which climate services are used is likely to be central to designing user-relevant climate services for adaptation action. As climate change presents a risk, one entry point to better understand the decision context is through an exploration of the perceptions of climate change risk. How risky climate change is perceived to be will influence whether action is taken on climate change, what decisions are made and the types of information that are used when taking action, providing valuable insights into the decision-context. This study quantifies and explores climate change risk perceptions, and its determinants, amongst policy decision influencers in east Africa. Climate change risk perceptions are found to be heightened, driven by observance of social norms, perceptions of climate change as a proximal risk, frequent experience of extreme weather events and a predominantly self-transcending (outward looking) value system among policy decision influencers. By drawing on known principles from environmental psychology, the study’s results lead to a set of suggestions about how currently available climate services could be aligned to the east African decision context to better encourage uptake and action.

Climate Change Perception and Innovative Mitigation Practices Adopted by Hungarian Farms

Climate change is becoming a growing concern for the agricultural sector. Variable weather events, such as droughts and floods, are expected to have a significant negative impact on agricultural losses, earnings and consumption. The agriculture industry in Europe is not immune to these difficulties. This study focuses on Hungary, a country with a strong agricultural focus that, as a result, is particularly susceptible to climate change. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to synthesis data about the perspectives of Hungarian farmers on the dangers of climate change. Then, latent variables were employed as explanatory variables in the Logit model to investigate the link between the perceptions of climate change risks by Hungarian farmers and their inclination to adopt innovative ways to mitigate its repercussions. Changes in temperature and precipitation, economic damage, water damage, and insect damage are seen as the most serious repercussions of climate change by Hungarian farmers. These beliefs raise the possibility of adopting new strategies to offset harmful consequences, including (i) the adoption of new varieties, (ii) ice and frost protection, and (iii) the use of agro-meteorological data. The results show that the chance of adopting new varieties is substantially influenced by farmers’ assessments of harm caused by pests, pathogens, and illnesses (2.91***). In contrast, water damage concerns seem to have a significant impact on the adoption of novel approaches to reduce cold and frost damage (2.18***). This study’s findings support the efforts of stakeholders and policymakers to encourage the dissemination of technology to protect crops from climate change in Hungary and imply that governments should provide financial incentives to farmers to boost innovation uptake.

Climate change risk perception and pro-environmental behavior: the moderating role of environmental values and psychological contract breach

PurposeDebates regarding climate change risk perception (CCRP), particularly its scale and impact on social and environmental sustainability, have continued for decades. CCRP is experiencing a renaissance with an increased focus on environmentally relevant behaviors to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, CCRP lacks investigation from the employee perspective. Supported by the social exchange and value–belief–norm theories, this study aims to address the impact of employees’ CCRP on their proenvironmental behavior (PEB) via the moderating roles of environmental values and psychological contract breach.Design/methodology/approachThe nonprobability convenience sampling technique was used to collect survey data from a sample of 299 employees across 138 manufacturing firms in Pakistan.FindingsThe results show that employees’ CCRP positively impacts their PEB and that this relationship is moderated by their environmental values and psychological contract breach. Specifically, environmental values strengthen the CCRP–PEB relationship, while psychological contract breach weakens it.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study emphasize useful guidance for managers and practitioners as a future avenue to restructure the climate change framework by emphasizing the conditions (i.e. environmental values and psychological contract breach). In doing so, the study is beneficial for managers and practitioners in helping to increase employees’ PEB through the development of climate change action plans.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first investigations into CCRP–employees’ PEB nexus in the developing country context. The study incorporates social exchange and value–belief–norm theory, which serve as the CCRP’s theoretical underpinnings. The findings advance the new knowledge about a firm’s social responsibility to achieve the sustainable development goals outlined in the UN’s 2030 Agenda.

Understanding Residents’ Intention to Adapt to Climate Change in Urban Destinations—A Case Study of Chang-Zhu-Tan Urban Agglomeration

While urban destinations have been affected by climate change, they are also at the vanguard of climate change adaptation. However, there is limited evidence from the urban destination point of view showing how they perceive or adapt to climate change influences. Therefore, this study bridges the gap by adopting the protection motivation theory to investigate residents’ perceptions of climate change risks and their adaptation intentions. Web-based questionnaires were developed and distributed to respondents, specifically residents in the CZT (Chang-Zhu-Tan) urban agglomeration. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to explore the underlying mechanisms. The findings show that the residents were already aware of the impact of global climate change and were well informed with regard to the relevant information. The key factors driving the residents’ intention to adapt to the changing climate were identified, and include information, risk perception, perceived adaptive capacity, and adaptive incentives. Importantly, receiving the relevant information can greatly enhance an individual’s risk awareness and adaptation appraisal ability. When people perceive greater climatic hazards and adaptive ability, they are more inclined to undertake climate interventions. Additionally, adaptive incentives have a considerable influence on adaptation appraisal, and greater incentives will mobilize residents to better adapt to climate change. The results provide useful suggestions, such as enhancing climate risk awareness and building adaptive capacity for urban destinations to generate better policies and strategies in climate adaptation and destination management.

How climate change could affect different cities in Canada and what that means for the risks to the built-environment functions

This research aims to advance risk perceptions of climate change and understanding of the potential needs of municipal-scale climate adaptation across seventeen Canadian cities. To do so, the rate and direction of changes in a wide variety of climate variables are examined in all the capital cities and some other major cities like Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary, by analyzing downscaled data from twenty-six General Circulation Models (GCMs) from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) to the year 2100, using the modified Mann-Kendall test and Euclidean distance. The findings of this study suggest that under SSP5–8.5 scenario, Canadian cities will experience more extreme heat and heavy rainfall but less extreme cold in the future, especially when compared to SSP2–4.5, where for example, the number of models showing an increasing trend for annual precipitation is about 60% higher under SSP5–8.5 than under SSP2–4.5 over the 17 cities. In addition, using Epps-Singleton test, climate change in neighboring cities is compared to see how similar adaptation plans are possible. The results show that coastal cities, even those located relatively close to one another, such as Vancouver and Victoria, follow different trends for most of the variables (22 out of 28). Furthermore, a qualitative assessment of which built environment aspects of these cities may require more rapid modification than others is provided to assist decision-makers and planners in resilience planning and resource allocation.

Factors influencing smallholder farmers’ climate change risk perceptions: A behavioral approach in semi-arid regions of Zimbabwe

Abstract The resilience of the agricultural sector is increasingly threatened by climate change while rainfed agriculture has become more susceptible to climate and weather-related stressors. However, farmers’ perceptions of climate change risk which vary by niche, greatly influence their adaptation strategies. This study used a questionnaire survey to solicit factors that inform and shape climate change risk perceptions of smallholder farmers in semi-arid areas in Zimbabwe. A sample of 180 farming households was randomly selected from six wards of Beitbridge District, Matabeleland South Province. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and the ordered probit regression model were used to assess the determinants of smallholder farmers’ perceptions of climate change risk. Results show that perceptions of climate change risk are significantly enhanced by educational level, participation in social groups, household experience in agriculture, access to climate information and extension services, as well as age, gender, and education level of the household head. However, resource endowments reduced the climate change risk perception of households. However, the weak influence of these factors points towards the existence of other issues that influence smallholder farmer climate risk perceptions that warrant additional research to understand how these inform and shape smallholder farmer decision-making. Nonetheless, there is a continuous need to improve smallholder farmers’ access to climate information and build their capacity to address emerging climate risks. This is critical to shaping their climate change risk perceptions and influencing their decisions to adopt resilience-building technologies.

Predicting climate change anxiety

Anxiety about climate change is increasing. What are its predictors? In a cross-sectional survey of 323 North Americans, six possible predictors and their interrelations were investigated: climate change knowledge, prior experience with climate change impacts, generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, climate change worry, climate change risk perception, and media exposure to climate change information. A model of the connections among them was proposed. Most hypotheses about the model's structure were supported, the model had a very good fit to the data, and it accounted for 54 percent of the variance in reported climate change anxiety. The results help to explicate who experiences climate change anxiety and suggest directions toward effective means of addressing climate-related mental health concerns. Some implications for theory and practice are offered.

From believing in climate change to adapting to climate change: The role of risk perception and efficacy beliefs.

Are people more inclined to adapt to climate change if they believe that climate change is real, caused by human behavior, and/or brings negative consequences? Previous studies provided inconclusive results on the relationship between climate change perceptions and adaptation behavior. Using a longitudinal approach, we examined whether risk perception, self-efficacy, and outcome efficacy play a role in how and when climate change perceptions are associated with adaptation to pluvial flooding and heat stress in the Netherlands. As expected, stronger climate change perceptions were associated with stronger perceptions of climate-related risks, which in turn lead to stronger intentions to implement adaptation measures. Yet, neither climate change perceptions nor risk perception were associated with whether people had actually implemented adaptation measures during a 1-year period. Contrary to common assumptions in the literature, higher levels of perceived self-efficacy and outcome efficacy did not strengthen the relations between climate change perceptions and adaptation intentions and behavior. Rather, higher levels of self-efficacy and outcome efficacy were directly related to stronger intentions to take adaptive measures and taking those measures within a period of 1 year. Exploratory analyses offered initial support for a sequential model where climate change perceptions lead to higher levels of perceptions of specific climate-related risks, which in turn lead to stronger self-efficacy and outcome efficacy, ultimately increasing adaptation intentions, but not actual behavior. Strategies to promote adaptation behavior could aim to remove behavioral barriers to increase self-efficacy, and strengthen outcome efficacy, enabling people to act on their climate change perceptions.

Climate change risk perceptions, vulnerability, and adaptation in high altitude farming regions of Hindu Kush Himalaya

ABSTRACT Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) is highly vulnerable to climate change, but there is the least understanding of the impacts of climate change. This study explored local climate change risk perceptions, vulnerability, and adaptive responses in the three HKH countries, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bhutan. For this purpose, 379 farm households from low, medium, and high elevations in the study districts of Rasuwa in Nepal, Gilgit in Pakistan and the Central District in Bhutan were surveyed. A semi-structured digital survey was used for data collection. Further, the study used the IPCC climate vulnerability framework to explore the farm-level vulnerability to climate change in three HKH countries. The study revealed that farmers in the study areas strongly agreed that the climate was changing in the region with high summer temperatures and increasing frequency and intensity of weather-related extreme events. Increasing poverty and limited institutional services make farmers more vulnerable to climate risks. Farmers reported reduced agricultural productivity and decreased revenue caused by climate change. Crop yields at high altitudes were slightly higher, but only because of multiple cropping triggered by weather patterns. Lack of information, resources, and institutional support significantly hamper the farmers’ adaptive capacity. A small fraction of the farmers adopted improved crop varieties and land management. The study recommends improving outreach and institutional services, especially climate-specific farm advisory services in HKH countries.