Disaster can sway votes but won't deliver climate action, study shows

Disaster can sway votes but won't deliver climate action, study shows

A new study shows that, despite fires, floods and record heat, most Australians do not change their behavior or beliefs in response to climate change—except in a narrow window following a disaster. Lead author Dr. Omid Ghasemi from the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response (ICRR) says the study set out to answer a central question in climate policy: whether rising climate-related costs would drive stronger public action.

New study of 10 years of data shows climate disasters like fires and floods only provide a temporary nudge in voting and beliefs. Personal experience is consistently outweighed by political identity and income proving that extreme weather is no substitute