scholarly journals Climate Change in Your Backyard: When Climate is Proximate, People Become Activists

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron C. Sparks
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
The World ◽  
Change Impact ◽  
Climate Disasters ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Climate Mitigation Policies

Scientific warnings about climate change continue as climate disasters strike all around the world. There is increasing public support for climate mitigation policies, and major mass protests shed light on the issue. How does climate change impact increase climate activism? I build on a conventional understanding of activism by adding the insight of construal level theory. When climate change is experienced more directly, people are more likely to act because they care more and can link concern to specific actions. Among a sample of Californians (MTurk; n = 604) as climate was perceived as more proximate, respondents were more likely to take action. A survey-experiment conducted using a US sample (MTurk; n = 609) demonstrated that as issues become more psychologically proximate, respondents were more likely to take political action. These results suggest that organizers can activate proximity to mobilize supporters.

scholarly journals Public Perceptions on the Procedural Values and Proposed Outcomes of the Finnish Climate Change Act Amendment

2022 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eerika Albrecht ◽  
Iikka Pietilä ◽  
Sanna-Riikka Saarela
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sustainability Transition ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change ◽  
Procedural Values ◽  
Climate Neutrality

This article examines the public perceptions on the drafting process of Finnish Climate Act amendment, which is a legislation on the climate policy that aims to mitigate climate change and secure adaptive capacity. In this paper we present results of a thematic analysis, which reveals citizens' perceptions of the procedural values, with respect to transparency, participation, and acceptance, and the objectives of the amendment, such as the climate neutrality target for 2035. The research data consisted of 2,458 answers to a citizen survey on the Finnish Climate Change Act amendment. Our results reveal that the opinions of citizens ranged from highlighting the urgency of political action to climate denials, with varying perceptions on process and proposed outcomes. While over half of citizens felt positively about the 2035 climate neutrality target created in the Climate Change Amendment Act, only a third believed that there was appropriate opportunity for public participation in the amendment process. Based on these findings, we suggest that participatory and transparent processes in legislative drafting are prerequisites for the sustainability transition and the implementation of international climate mitigation targets.

Discussion on Low Carbon Economy

2014 ◽  
Vol 1010-1012 ◽  
pp. 2063-2066
Author(s):  
An Wang ◽  
Xiang Qing Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
International Society ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Peaceful Rise ◽  
Low Carbon Economy ◽  
The World ◽  
Climate Disasters ◽  
Carbon Economy ◽  
Challenges And Strategies

In recent years, severe climate disasters around the world have become increasingly frequent, so climate change has become the foucus of international society and sustainable development has become the hot topic again. To copy with climate change, all countries have reached consensus on the development of low carbon economy. Developing low carbon economy is the necessary choice for Chia to be a big responsible country and realize peaceful rise and sustainable development. On the basis of the connotation and characteristics of low carbon economy, the paper focuses on the challenges and strategies of low-carbon economy development.

Human health impacts of climate change as a catalyst for public engagement

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 578-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra Pillay ◽  
Jeroen van den Bergh
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Economic Costs ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper aims to clarify the relationship between climate change, its negative impacts on human health and its role in catalysing public engagement for climate policies. It aims to increase public support for climate-mitigation strategies by showing the medical case for negative climate-induced health impacts, the economic burden it entails and the public response to climate change that may be expected when health frames are used. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews medical, economic and behavioural studies focusing on climate-induced health impacts, its economic costs and its potential for catalysing public engagement for climate policy. Findings The paper provides empirical insights about the various direct and indirect effects of climate change on human health which includes both physical impacts (infectious and non-infectious diseases) and non-physical impacts (mental disorders and reduced labour productivity). Extreme events such as storms, floods and droughts further seriously affect the health of many people, as they restrict food production and water supply. Economic damage costs of climate-induced health impacts are underestimated. Together, natural science, medical and economic studies warrant giving more attention to health in public debates on climate change. The more so as evidence of behavioural studies suggests that the use of health frames reinforces public concern for climate issues. Originality/value This paper argues that climate-induced health impacts and their economic costs should be given more serious attention in discussions about climate-mitigation strategies. They can augment public support for climate policy.

scholarly journals Flood Sensitivity, Risk Perception, and Support for Climate Action in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Jamieson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
The United States ◽  
Change Communication ◽  
The Us ◽  
Climate Action

Despite increasing evidence of the effects of climate change and scientific consensus about its threat, significant political barriers to climate action remain in the US. American public opinion about climate change is generally perceived as stable and sharply divided along partisan lines. However, less is known about the relationship between flood sensitivity and public opinion about climate change. Combining the ND-GAIN Urban Adaptation Assessment data of American cities with public opinion data from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, this paper demonstrates the positive association between flood sensitivity and beliefs about climate change, risk perceptions, and support for climate action. These results have important implications for the understanding of public opinion about climate change, suggesting that flood sensitivity shapes perceptions of climate change. The results also have important implications for advocates of political action, suggesting that making flood sensitivity salient could help mobilize public support for climate action.

scholarly journals Climate Change Impact and Adaptation for Highway Asphalt Pavements: A Literature Review

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surya Teja Swarna ◽  
Kamal Hossain
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Asphalt Pavements ◽  
Civil Infrastructure ◽  
Economic Costs ◽  
Change Models ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Change Impact

For the past few decades, researchers all over the world have agreed that the service life of civil infrastructure is significantly affected by climate change. Pavement is one of these significant infrastructures that can be easily affected by climate change. However, it is well known that predicting climate change is highly complex and dynamic. Hence, a review has been done on available climate change models and the uncertainties involved in climate change prediction. This review addresses various important questions such as (1) What is climate change? (2) How to use climate change models? (3) Uncertainties involved in using climate change models. (4) How does climate change impacts the pavement infrastructure? (5) What are the adaptation and mitigation strategies available? and (6) How do economic costs and emissions change due to climate change? This review is useful to understand climate change and its implications on pavement infrastructure.

Environmental Kuznets curves, carbon emissions, and public choice

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
JODY W. LIPFORD ◽  
BRUCE YANDLE
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Emissions Reductions ◽  
The World ◽  
Environmental Kuznets Curves ◽  
Global Carbon ◽  
Shed Light

ABSTRACTConcern about global climate change has elicited responses from governments around the world. These responses began with the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and have continued with other negotiations, including the 2009 Copenhagen Summit. These negotiations raised important questions about whether countries will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, if so, how the burden of emissions reductions will be shared. To investigate these questions, we utilize environmental Kuznets curves for carbon emissions for the G8 plus five main developing countries. Our findings raise doubts about the feasibility of reducing global carbon emissions and shed light on the different positions taken by countries on the distribution of emissions reductions.

Countering Climate Science Denial and Communicating Scientific Consensus

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Cook
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Scientific Consensus ◽  
Mitigation Policies

Scientific agreement on climate change has strengthened over the past few decades, with around 97% of publishing climate scientists agreeing that human activity is causing global warming. While scientific understanding has strengthened, a small but persistent proportion of the public actively opposes the mainstream scientific position. A number of factors contribute to this rejection of scientific evidence, with political ideology playing a key role. Conservative think tanks, supported with funding from vested interests, have been and continue to be a prolific source of misinformation about climate change. A major strategy by opponents of climate mitigation policies has been to cast doubt on the level of scientific agreement on climate change, contributing to the gap between public perception of scientific agreement and the 97% expert consensus. This “consensus gap” decreases public support for mitigation policies, demonstrating that misconceptions can have significant societal consequences. While scientists need to communicate the consensus, they also need to be aware of the fact that misinformation can interfere with the communication of accurate scientific information. As a consequence, neutralizing the influence of misinformation is necessary. Two approaches to neutralize misinformation involve refuting myths after they have been received by recipients (debunking) or preemptively inoculating people before they receive misinformation (prebunking). Research indicates preemptive refutation or “prebunking” is more effective than debunking in reducing the influence of misinformation. Guidelines to practically implement responses (both preemptive and reactive) can be found in educational research, cognitive psychology, and a branch of psychological research known as inoculation theory. Synthesizing these separate lines of research yields a coherent set of recommendations for educators and communicators. Clearly communicating scientific concepts, such as the scientific consensus, is important, but scientific explanations should be coupled with inoculating explanations of how that science can be distorted.

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