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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. 

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.