Personalized risk messaging can reduce climate concerns. (March 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mildenberger, Matto; Lubell, Mark; Hummel, Michelle
• Is Part Of: Global environmental change. Volume 55(2019)
• Page Start: 15
• Page End: 24
• Publication Date: 2019-03
• Subjects: Risk perceptions -- Climate change adaptation -- Sea-level rise -- Communication; Environmental policy -- Periodicals; Human ecology -- Periodicals; Nature -- Effect of human beings on -- Periodicals; Environment -- Periodicals; Environnement -- Politique gouvernementale -- Périodiques; Écologie humaine -- Périodiques; Homme -- Influence sur la nature -- Périodiques; Environmental policy; Human ecology; Nature -- Effect of human beings on; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 333.7
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.01.002
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-3780

Abstract

Highlights: We report a large-n survey experiment on San Francisco Bay Area residents to investigate how providing personalized risk information shapes sea-level rise risk perceptions Personalized risk messaging sometimes reduced concern about sea-level rise, particularly among individuals who believe in climate change We find no effect of personalized risk information on an individual's willingness to pay for regional climate adaptation measures. Local sea-level rise messaging strategies may not have the clear impacts that some advocates and scholars presume. Abstract: One potential barrier to climate policy action is that individuals view climate change as a problem for people in other parts of the world or for future generations. As some scholars argue, risk messaging strategies that make climate change personally relevant may help overcome this barrier. In this article, we report a large-n survey experiment on San Francisco Bay Area residents to investigate how providing spatially-resolved risk information to individuals shapes their climate risk perceptions in the context of sea-level rise. Our results suggest that personalized risk messaging can sometimes reduce concern about sea-level rise. These experimental effects are limited to respondents who believe that climate change is happening. Further, we do not find an effect of providing local risk messages on an individual's willingness to pay for regional climate adaptation measures. Our results emphasize that local messaging strategies around sea-level rise risks may not have the clear impacts that some advocates and scholars presume.