Extreme Weather Event Attribution Predicts Climate Policy Support Across the World

Extreme weather event attribution predicts climate policy support across the world

Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change. Yet, little is known about the relationship between exposure to extreme events, subjective attribution of these events to climate change, and climate policy support, especially in the Global South. Combining large-scale natural and social science data from 68 countries (N = 71,922), we develop a measure of exposed population to extreme weather events and investi…

Attributing extreme weather to climate change may lead to more support

How much people believe extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, or heavy storms are the result of climate change may impact their support for climate change policies, according to Australian and international research. Being exposed to extreme events did not predict policy support for most of the types of events they looked at, with the exceptions being bushfires and heavy rain. The authors say that just experiencing extreme weather eve…