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Abstract Domestic climate migration is likely to increase in the future, but we know little about public perceptions and attitudes about climate migrants and migration. Understanding how perceptions and attitudes are formed is a critical task in assessing public support for assistance policies and developing effective messaging campaigns. In this paper, we aim to better understand how the U.S. public perceives domestic climate migrants. We use novel survey data to identify the relationship between climate change risk perceptions and awareness of “climate migrants,” belief that domestic climate migration is currently happening in the United States, perceived voluntariness of domestic climate migrant relocation, and support for the development of assistance programs for domestic climate migrants. We utilize a large, nationally representative panel of U.S. adults (N= 4074) collected over three waves in 2022. We find that climate change risk perceptions and perceptions of whether migration is voluntary are key drivers of perceptions and attitudes toward domestic climate migrants. We provide key suggestions to policy makers and decision-makers to improve outcomes for host and migrant communities. Significance StatementThis study illuminates factors that influence the how the public forms perceptions and attitudes about domestic climate migrants in the United States. For the first time, we offer insight into the drivers of public opinion toward domestic climate migrants and migration. Our results indicate that the various perceptions of climate migrants are largely driven by preexisting climate change risk perceptions and respondent characteristics. Our findings create a new connection with the existing literature on climate change risk perceptions and offer an opportunity for decision-makers and policy makers to create effective messaging campaigns on topics related to domestic climate migration in the United States.
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Public preferences for five electricity grid decarbonization policies in California
Abstract The climate crisis and associated push for distributed, renewable electricity generation necessitate policy changes to decarbonize and modernize the electricity grid. Some of these changes—e.g., smart meter rollouts and tax credits for solar panel adoption—have received attention in the media and from social scientists to understand public perceptions and responses. Others—e.g., allowing peer‐to‐peer electricity sales, promoting residential electrification, requiring solar panels on new development, funding microgrids, and paying customers to allow for utility control of electricity use—have received less attention. Here, we explore public perceptions of these understudied policies among California residents (n = 804), a state recognized for innovative energy policy. A majority of respondents supported only one of the policies—requiring solar panels on new development. Others elicited more indecision; few were strongly opposed. In general, male respondents and those with college degrees were more supportive of such policies, as were those more concerned about climate change and with a more open orientation to smart home technologies.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1737565
- PAR ID:
- 10449643
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Review of Policy Research
- Volume:
- 38
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 1541-132X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 510-528
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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