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Abstract As climate change impacts increase in frequency and magnitude, policies, and actions to promote climate change adaptation are critical to reduce negative consequences to infrastructure and society. Despite the urgency of adaptation, there have been few systematic efforts to understand the dynamics of public support for adaptation efforts at the local level in the U.S., partly because of the context- and location-specific nature of many adaptation actions. In this paper we use novel survey data to identify the role of demographics, extreme weather experience, awareness of climate change adaptation, risk perceptions, and perceived efficacy in predicting general support for local climate adaptation policy. We utilize a large national sample of U.S. adults (N = 37,088) collected over 12 waves between 2019 and 2022. We find that risk perceptions, beliefs about global warming, awareness of climate change adaptation, and perceived efficacy of local governments are key drivers of support for local adaptation policy. We provide policymakers, educators, and communicators with key guidelines for enhancing public support for adaptation policies. These insights are critical to expanding climate adaptation efforts and policy implementation at the local and national levels in the U.S.
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Quantitative Ethnography of Policy Ecosystems: A Case Study on Climate Change Adaptation Planning
Analysis of policy ecosystems can be challenging due to the volume of documentary and ethnographic data and the complexity of the interactions that define the ecology of such a system. This paper uses climate change adaptation policy as a case study with which to explore the potential for QE methods to model policy ecosystems. Specifically, it analyzes policies and draft policies constructed by three different categories of governmental entity—nations, state and local governments, and tribal governments or Indigenous communities—as well as guidance for policy makers produced by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other international agencies, as a first step toward mapping the ecology of climate change adaptation policy. This case study is then used to reflect on the strengths of QE methods for analyzing policy ecosystems and areas of opportunity for further theoretical and methodological development.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2100320
- PAR ID:
- 10354408
- Editor(s):
- Barany, A.; Damsa, C.
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advances in Quantitative Ethnography: Fourth International Conference, International Conference on Quantitative Ethnography 2022
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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