What is your climattitude? Examining the relationship between political events and climate attitude

Abstract

As the impacts of climate change are increasingly materialized, fears about its intensity and adverse effects are similarly growing. Therefore, in an era in which persistent and proactive efforts at the national level are called for, whether and how international climate change events influence public opinion is imperative, particularly for understanding the potential for climate policy. This study examined the relationships between political events related with climate change – such as the Paris Agreement, and the U.S. withdrawal from the accord – and climate attitude - a degree of concern, risk perceptions, and policy preferences. The study analyzed cross-sectional data surveyed from 2014 to 2017 at the county level using a binomial logistic regression model. The results show that political events increase the likelihood of cordial attitude on climate change, also these factors are significantly correlated to climate attitude including three dependent variables respectively. This study can help us better understand the political and cultural context that can illuminate public opinion trends at the national level and reflect “policy moods” that likely shape national policy.