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Comparing the effects of climate change labelling on reactions of the Taiwanese public

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  • Li-San Hung

    (National Taiwan Normal University)

  • Mucahid Mustafa Bayrak

    (National Taiwan Normal University)

Abstract

Scientists and the media are increasingly using the terms ‘climate emergency’ or ‘climate crisis’ to urge timely responses from the public and private sectors to combat the irreversible consequences of climate change. However, whether the latest trend in climate change labelling can result in stronger climate change risk perceptions in the public is unclear. Here we used survey data collected from 1,892 individuals across Taiwan in 2019 to compare the public’s reaction to a series of questions regarding climate change beliefs, communication, and behavioural intentions under two labels: ‘climate change’ and ‘climate crisis.’ The respondents had very similar responses to the questions using the two labels. However, we observed labelling effects for specific subgroups, with some questions using the climate crisis label actually leading to backlash effects compared with the response when using the climate change label. Our results suggest that even though the two labels provoke similar reactions from the general public, on a subgroup level, some backlash effects may become apparent. For this reason, the label ‘climate crisis’ should be strategically chosen.

Suggested Citation

  • Li-San Hung & Mucahid Mustafa Bayrak, 2020. "Comparing the effects of climate change labelling on reactions of the Taiwanese public," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-6, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-19979-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19979-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Grolleau, Gilles & Mzoughi, Naoufel & Peterson, Deborah & Tendero, Marjorie, 2022. "Changing the world with words? Euphemisms in climate change issues," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    2. Wändi Bruine de Bruin & Laurel Kruke & Gale M. Sinatra & Norbert Schwarz, 2024. "Should we change the term we use for “climate change”? Evidence from a national U.S. terminology experiment," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 177(8), pages 1-21, August.
    3. Li-San Hung & Chongming Wang, 2022. "Decision-making process related to climate change mitigation among married-couple households: A case study of Taiwan," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 27(8), pages 1-18, December.
    4. Lauren Feldman & P. Sol Hart, 2021. "Upping the ante? The effects of “emergency” and “crisis” framing in climate change news," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 1-20, November.
    5. James Patterson & Carina Wyborn & Linda Westman & Marie Claire Brisbois & Manjana Milkoreit & Dhanasree Jayaram, 2021. "The political effects of emergency frames in sustainability," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 4(10), pages 841-850, October.

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