Climate Risk Communication Research Articles

Flood risk and climate change: A disconnect between homeowners’ awareness and mitigating actions?

Based on two surveys among Dutch homeowners, we find evidence for a disconnect between flood risk awareness and intentions to mitigate climate change. In terms of awareness, we find that owners of at-risk properties are 9.8 percentage points more likely to see floods as the main threat to their home. However, at-risk owners are also 4.6 percentage points less likely to consider improving their property’s energy efficiency. Trust in flood protection turns out to be a moderator variable. In particular, at-risk owners with high levels of trust are less likely to consider improving energy efficiency than at-risk owners with low levels of trust in flood protection. We discuss implications for climate risk communication.

Climate Risk Communication in Tourism Destinations in Siruma, Camarines Sur, Philippines

Climate risk communication is an important early warning tool for an upcoming disaster. It prepares the locals to decide and act appropriately to save lives and properties. This study primarily described climate risk communication in tourism destinations in Siruma, Camarines Sur. Specifically, it aimed to 1.) identify the sources and severity of risks in tourism in the locality, 2.) find out how these risks are communicated in the locality, 3.) determine how the locals perceive these risk communication measures, and 4.) recommend some measures to improve risk communication. Using Qualitative Research Design, data were gathered through Focus Group Discussion and Key Informant Interview. Seventeen (17) participants shared their experiences, thoughts, and opinions on climate risk information, risk communication strategies, problems encountered, and risk perception. FGD result shows that the four risks experienced by the locals for the last five years were typhoons, heavy rainfall and flooding, storm surge, and temperature extreme which is El Nino phenomenon. The most severe at level 4 was Typhoon Ulysses in 2020.The primary source of the climate risks are the Local DRRM Officer in coordination with Barangay Officials and the Philippine National Police through house-to-house visits and two-way radio. It was observed that despite the abundance of risk information, some locals refuse orders for preventive evacuation mainly because they do not perceive the risk due to some not credible sources and unpersuasive messages. Focused and directed risk communication messages can help them perceive upcoming risk to behave positively. The study recommends that LGU Siruma may draft and implement a Climate Risk Communication Plan that will include communication strategies using various media with focused messages, skills trainings on communicating risk messages, trainings on value formation, and enhancing internet connectivity in Siruma.

Risk Amplification and Attenuation as Communication Strategies in Climate Adaptation in Urban Areas.

Climate risks are motivating adaptation with local municipal actors becoming key participants in a complex web of climate risk communication. Some cities have created civil service positions focused on climate resilience. We conducted interviews with six such individuals in four U.S. Atlantic coast cities to investigate how they think about and negotiate communication challenges associated with implementation of climate resilience strategies. We grounded our study in the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF), which despite its longevity and wide usage has rarely been used to understand the role of government actors. We found substantial complexity in how these government representatives develop both amplifying and attenuating communication strategies as they often simultaneously reach multiple audiences holding different perspectives. They are familiar with and employ risk communication practices. However, they report needing to modify their efforts as climate adaptation issues and goals evolve over time, and experiment in situations, such as discussions of retreat, where established communication practices provide insufficient guidance. In order to develop a deeper understanding of the governmental risk communication actors, we suggest four potential avenues for taking advantage of the strengths of SARF as a framework for connecting and integrating with other models and theories. We also propose several directions for research based on the challenges these practitioners are finding in their work to facilitate adaptation to climate risks. The activity of government actors is rich in its applied risk communication practice and its challenges offer new questions to expand our thinking about the SARF and risk communication more broadly.

Overall Structure of Climate Risk Interconnections and Importance of Climate Risk Communication

Overall Structure of Climate Risk Interconnections and Importance of Climate Risk Communication

Making climate information services accessible to communities: What can we learn from environmental risk communication research?

This paper evaluates the role of socio-cultural issues in developing climate information services that are accessible and engaging to urban communities. Two public-facing city-level climate information provision initiatives in Japan are evaluated in light of theory in environmental risk communication. The first case is Fukuoka City, Kyushu, in particular increased flood and heat risk. The second case is Tomakomai City, Hokkaido, particularly municipal data provision on potential localised climate risks related to marine environmental change. Evaluation is undertaken through in-depth interviews with local-level actors (policymakers, scientists, NGOs, citizens), and field observation in each location. The paper argues that at a stage where principles and best practices on climate information service provision are still emerging, it is crucial to avoid assumptions about what communities will want to know about climate risks. The paper hence proposes principles for more appropriate climate risk communication. These include (a) identifying which institutions citizens look to for information on local weather and climate; (b) acknowledging that publics can, in appropriate contexts, be able and willing to engage with complex information on urban climate risk; and (c) considering how data-driven information services fit with the more informal ways in which people can experience environmental change.

Drivers of flood and climate change risk perceptions and intention to adapt: an explorative survey in coastal and delta Vietnam

This article contributes to current research about determinants of climate change and flood risk perception, and intentions to take adaptive measures. We propose a research model that distinguishes between vulnerability and severity components of perceived risks, and adds perceived adaptive capacity as a third factor to predict the intention to take adaptive measures. We used this combined model as a conceptual lens for an explorative survey among 1086 residents of coastal and delta communities in Vietnam. Pairwise analyses revealed a significant association of flood and climate change risk perceptions with individual’s flood experience, climate change knowledge, frequency of community participation and socio-demographic factors. However, in multivariate analysis, the influence of most socio-demographic factors became weak or patchy. Flood experience was the most influential driver of flood-related risk perceptions but weak for climate change-related risk perceptions and behavioural intentions. Knowledge strongly increased the intention to adapt to flood and climate risks and the perceived vulnerability to and severity of climate change risks, but reduced the perceived capacity to adapt to climate risks. Frequency of community participation increased the perceived vulnerability and severity of climate change risks, the intention to adapt to both climate and flood risks and the perceived capacity to adapt to flood risks, but reduced the perceived capacity to adapt to climate risks. Our research confirms earlier findings that individuals’ knowledge, place-specific experience and social-cultural influences are key predictors of both flood and climate change risk perceptions and intentions to take adaptive measures. These factors should therefore receive ample attention in climate risk communication.

Climate risk communication of navigation safety and climate conditions over Lake Victoria basin: Exploring perceptions and knowledge of indigenous communities

Governmental and non-governmental organizations have increasingly developed climate services and products to improve safety on Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest and the world’s second largest freshwa...

Preparing for flooding in England and Wales: the role of risk perception and the social context in driving individual action

Flooding is a major threat to the local communities in the UK, and the risks are increasing due to climate change. Encouraging homeowners to prepare for the consequences of catastrophic flooding is imperative. This study aims to examine the ways in which individuals’ risk perceptions and socio-cultural characteristics co-determine the preparedness for flood hazards. It is based on a social survey about household arrangements that can reduce the economic losses arising from flooding and enhance community resilience. A total of 485 responses were solicited from homeowners in England and Wales. Results confirm that the intention to act is socially motivated. This indicates the need for addressing the role of social networks and engagement with local community in enhancing community resilience to flooding. On the other hand, the effect of risk-related considerations is complicated. Perceived severity of flood damage is associated with intended actions, whereas risk characteristics are not. This implies that although providing relevant risk information to the public is crucial, appealing to the feelings of fears and uncertainties is less likely to be effective in driving actions for managing flood risks than has been usually assumed. The findings have practical implications for policy-making and climate risk communication.

Rhetorical Principles on Uncertainty for Transdisciplinary Engagement and Improved Climate Risk Communication

Rhetorical Principles on Uncertainty for Transdisciplinary Engagement and Improved Climate Risk Communication

Agricultural trade publications and the 2012 Midwestern U.S. drought: A missed opportunity for climate risk communication

The Midwestern United States experienced a devastating drought in 2012, leading to reduced corn and soybean yields and increased instances of pests and disease. Climate change induced weather variability and extremes are expected to increase in the future, and have and will continue to impact the agricultural sector. This study investigated how agricultural trade publications portrayed the 2012 U.S. Midwestern drought, whether climate change was associated with drought, and whether these publications laid out transformative adaptation measures farmers could undertake in order to increase their adaptive capacity for future climate uncertainty. We performed a content analysis of 1000 media reports between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2014, sampled from ten agricultural trade publications. The results lead us to suggest that trade publications’ 2012 U.S. Midwestern drought discussion lacked information that would allow farmers and agricultural advisors to assess climate change risk and subsequent potential adaptive management strategies. Agricultural risk from climate change is very real, and farmers will need to adapt. The agricultural trade publications studied missed an opportunity to convey risk from climate change and the transformative adaptation practices necessary for a sustainable and resilient agricultural system.

Flood risk and climate change in the Rotterdam area, The Netherlands: enhancing citizen's climate risk perceptions and prevention responses despite skepticism

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.

Climate Change Risk Perception and Communication: Addressing a Critical Moment?

Climate change is an increasingly salient issue for societies and policy-makers worldwide. It now raises fundamental interdisciplinary issues of risk and uncertainty analysis and communication. The growing scientific consensus over the anthropogenic causes of climate change appears to sit at odds with the increasing use of risk discourses in policy: for example, to aid in climate adaptation decision making. All of this points to a need for a fundamental revision of our conceptualization of what it is to do climate risk communication. This Special Collection comprises seven papers stimulated by a workshop on "Climate Risk Perceptions and Communication" held at Cumberland Lodge Windsor in 2010. Topics addressed include climate uncertainties, images and the media, communication and public engagement, uncertainty transfer in climate communication, the role of emotions, localization of hazard impacts, and longitudinal analyses of climate perceptions. Climate change risk perceptions and communication work is critical for future climate policy and decisions.