IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/climat/v176y2023i8d10.1007_s10584-023-03594-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Public recognition of climate change inequities within the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Jonathon P. Schuldt

    (Cornell University
    Roper Center for Public Opinion Research)

  • Adam R. Pearson

    (Pomona College)

Abstract

Climate change has unequal impacts on socially disadvantaged communities around the globe, including within major emitting nations such as the United States. But to what extent does the public recognize these inequities? We report results from two national-level surveys of US adults conducted in May and August–September 2022 (N = 2101 total) that asked respondents whether climate change affects “some groups more than others” or “all groups about equally,” and that experimentally tested how referencing specific social categories (e.g., “some racial groups more than others…”) affected responses. Results suggest low recognition of climate inequities among the US public, with only 37 to 44% of respondents correctly recognizing that climate change affects “some groups more than others” across the two surveys. Furthermore, despite robust evidence of the role of race as a determinant of climate-related inequities, just 22% of respondents acknowledged race-based climate inequities. Recognition of climate inequities was greater among younger respondents, those with more education, Hispanic respondents, and Democrats. Nevertheless, baseline levels of recognition were low, with fewer than one-third of Democrats and those with a 4-year college or post-graduate degree recognizing race-based inequities. We consider implications of this pervasive “great equalizer” perception for mobilizing public support for policies aimed at addressing climate injustice.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathon P. Schuldt & Adam R. Pearson, 2023. "Public recognition of climate change inequities within the United States," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(8), pages 1-14, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:176:y:2023:i:8:d:10.1007_s10584-023-03594-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-023-03594-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10584-023-03594-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10584-023-03594-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonathon P. Schuldt & Adam R. Pearson & Neil A. Lewis jr. & Ashley Jardina & Peter K. Enns, 2022. "Inequality and Misperceptions of Group Concerns Threaten the Integrity and Societal Impact of Science," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 700(1), pages 195-207, March.
    2. Christine D. Miller Hesed & Michael Paolisso, 2015. "Cultural knowledge and local vulnerability in African American communities," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 5(7), pages 683-687, July.
    3. Teresa A. Myers & Edward W. Maibach & Connie Roser-Renouf & Karen Akerlof & Anthony A. Leiserowitz, 2013. "The relationship between personal experience and belief in the reality of global warming," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(4), pages 343-347, April.
    4. Lawrence Hamilton, 2011. "Education, politics and opinions about climate change evidence for interaction effects," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 104(2), pages 231-242, January.
    5. Angel Hsu & Glenn Sheriff & Tirthankar Chakraborty & Diego Manya, 2021. "Disproportionate exposure to urban heat island intensity across major US cities," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Reny, Tyler T. & Newman, Benjamin J., 2021. "The Opinion-Mobilizing Effect of Social Protest against Police Violence: Evidence from the 2020 George Floyd Protests," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 115(4), pages 1499-1507, November.
    7. Alexa Spence & Wouter Poortinga & Nick Pidgeon, 2012. "The Psychological Distance of Climate Change," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(6), pages 957-972, June.
    8. S. Nazrul Islam & John Winkel, 2017. "Climate Change and Social Inequality," Working Papers 152, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    9. Adam R. Pearson & Guadalupe A. Bacio & Sarah Naiman & Rainer Romero-Canyas & Jonathon P. Schuldt, 2021. "Cultural determinants of climate change opinion: familism predicts climate beliefs and policy support among US Latinos," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 1-8, July.
    10. Angel Hsu & Glenn Sheriff & Tirthankar Chakraborty & Diego Manya, 2021. "Publisher Correction: Disproportionate exposure to urban heat island intensity across major US cities," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-1, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Noa Levin, 2023. "Book review essay: City, Climate and Architecture; Coping with Urban Climates," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(13), pages 2725-2730, October.
    2. Wan Ting Katty Huang & Pierre Masselot & Elie Bou-Zeid & Simone Fatichi & Athanasios Paschalis & Ting Sun & Antonio Gasparrini & Gabriele Manoli, 2023. "Economic valuation of temperature-related mortality attributed to urban heat islands in European cities," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Ivan Rudik & Derek Lemoine & Antonia Marcheva, 2024. "Equity and Efficiency in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Adaptation Investments," NBER Chapters, in: Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, volume 6, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Luke J. Harrington & Kristie L. Ebi & David J. Frame & Friederike E. L. Otto, 2022. "Integrating attribution with adaptation for unprecedented future heatwaves," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 172(1), pages 1-7, May.
    5. Raya Muttarak & Thanyaporn Chankrajang, 2015. "Who is concerned about and takes action on climate change? Gender and education divides among Thais," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 13(1), pages 193-220.
    6. Bakhtsiyarava, Maryia & Schinasi, Leah H. & Sánchez, Brisa N. & Dronova, Iryna & Kephart, Josiah L. & Ju, Yang & Gouveia, Nelson & Caiaffa, Waleska Teixeira & O'Neill, Marie S. & Yamada, Goro & Arunac, 2023. "Modification of temperature-related human mortality by area-level socioeconomic and demographic characteristics in Latin American cities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    7. Andrew G. Meyer, 2022. "Do economic conditions affect climate change beliefs and support for climate action? Evidence from the US in the wake of the Great Recession," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(1), pages 64-86, January.
    8. Matthew T. Ballew & Jennifer R. Marlon & Matthew H. Goldberg & Edward W. Maibach & Seth A. Rosenthal & Emily Aiken & Anthony Leiserowitz, 2022. "Changing minds about global warming: vicarious experience predicts self-reported opinion change in the USA," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 173(3), pages 1-25, August.
    9. Claire Conzelmann & Jeremy Hoffman & Toan Phan & Arianna Salazar-Miranda, 2022. "Long-term Effects of Redlining on Environmental Risk Exposure," Working Paper 22-09R, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
    10. Shi, Han & Wang, Bo & Qiu, Yueming Lucy & Deng, Nana & Xie, Baichen & Zhang, Bin & Ma, Shijun, 2024. "The unequal impacts of extremely high temperatures on households’ adaptive behaviors: Empirical evidence from fine-grained electricity consumption data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    11. Jin, Shaoze & Zhang, Lijuan & Min, Shi, 2021. "Regional Climate Extremes and Farmer’s Perception: Impact on Acceptance of Environmentally-Friendly Rubber Plantations in Southwest China," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 314949, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Lucas Cain & Danae Hernandez-Cortes & Christopher Timmins & Paige Weber, 2023. "Recent Findings and Methodologies in Economics Research in Environmental Justice," CESifo Working Paper Series 10283, CESifo.
    13. Seol-A Kwon & Seoyong Kim & Jae Eun Lee, 2019. "Analyzing the Determinants of Individual Action on Climate Change by Specifying the Roles of Six Values in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-24, March.
    14. Céline Grislain-Letrémy & Julie Sixou & Aurélie Sotura, 2024. "Urban Heat Islands and Inequalities: Evidence from French Cities," Working papers 966, Banque de France.
    15. Joseph P. Reser & Graham L. Bradley, 2020. "The nature, significance, and influence of perceived personal experience of climate change," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(5), September.
    16. Yuxiang Li & Jens-Christian Svenning & Weiqi Zhou & Kai Zhu & Jesse F. Abrams & Timothy M. Lenton & William J. Ripple & Zhaowu Yu & Shuqing N. Teng & Robert R. Dunn & Chi Xu, 2024. "Green spaces provide substantial but unequal urban cooling globally," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    17. Jones, Andrew & Nock, Destenie & Samaras, Constantine & Qiu, Yueming (Lucy) & Xing, Bo, 2023. "Climate change impacts on future residential electricity consumption and energy burden: A case study in Phoenix, Arizona," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    18. Pennell, Grace & Newman, Sarah & Tarekegne, Bethel & Boff, Daniel & Fowler, Richard & Gonzalez, Juan, 2022. "A comparison of building system parameters between affordable and market-rate housing in New York City," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    19. Andrea Baccarelli & Dana C. Dolinoy & Cheryl Lyn Walker, 2023. "A precision environmental health approach to prevention of human disease," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    20. Risto Conte Keivabu, 2022. "Extreme Temperature and Mortality by Educational Attainment in Spain, 2012–2018," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 1145-1182, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:176:y:2023:i:8:d:10.1007_s10584-023-03594-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.