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Climate Change and Social Perception: A Case Study in Southern Italy

Author

Listed:
  • Loredana Antronico

    (Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection, Italian National Research Council, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy)

  • Roberto Coscarelli

    (Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection, Italian National Research Council, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy)

  • Francesco De Pascale

    (Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection, Italian National Research Council, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy)

  • Dante Di Matteo

    (Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Polytechnic of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy)

Abstract

The consequences of climate change can involve various ambits and be very severe. For this reason, the social perception of climate change is a fundamental issue since it can influence the decisions of the policymakers, by encouraging or discouraging political, economic and social actions. In this paper, a sample of 300 interviews, collected through a standardized questionnaire and carried out among two municipalities located in southern Italy, was exploited to investigate the perception of climate change. Specific issues, regarding perceptions about climate change, concerns about its impacts, level of information, behavior and actions, exposure to extreme natural events and trust, were addressed to give answers to the research questions: (i) Is climate change perceived by the population? (ii) What is the degree of the community resilience to extreme natural events and climate change? As the main findings, this survey highlighted that the spatio-temporal dimension affects population perception, suggesting that some issues, such as correct behavior towards the geosphere, the sustainability of anthropization processes, community resilience and disaster risk reduction policies, can be very central and useful to mitigate the effects of climate change in population and society. Moreover, climate change perception varies in relation to contextual factors, including media communication, socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, knowledge and education, economic and institutional factors, personal values and, finally, psychological factors and experience.

Suggested Citation

  • Loredana Antronico & Roberto Coscarelli & Francesco De Pascale & Dante Di Matteo, 2020. "Climate Change and Social Perception: A Case Study in Southern Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-24, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:17:p:6985-:d:404906
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    1. Crispino, Marta & Loberto, Michele, 2024. "Do people pay attention to climate change? Evidence from Italy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 434-449.
    2. Pelin Okutan & Emre N. Otay, 2025. "Climate Change Risk Perception, Adaptive Capacity and Psychological Distance in Urban Vulnerability: A District-Level Case Study in Istanbul, Türkiye," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-29, June.
    3. Francesco De Pascale & Eleonora Guadagno, 2025. "Climate Change and High-Quality Agri-Food Production: Perceptions of Risk and Adaptation Strategies in the Calabria Region (Southern Italy)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-23, April.
    4. Peter de Jesús & Pablo Olivos-Jara & Oscar Navarro, 2022. "Place Identity and Traumatic Experiences in the Context of Wildfires," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    5. Alberto Ponso & Angelo Bonfitto & Giovanni Belingardi, 2023. "Route Planning for Electric Vehicles Including Driving Style, HVAC, Payload and Battery Health," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-22, June.
    6. Benedetta Barchielli & Clarissa Cricenti & Francesca Gallè & Elita Anna Sabella & Fabrizio Liguori & Giovanna Da Molin & Giorgio Liguori & Giovanni Battista Orsi & Anna Maria Giannini & Stefano Ferrac, 2022. "Climate Changes, Natural Resources Depletion, COVID-19 Pandemic, and Russian-Ukrainian War: What Is the Impact on Habits Change and Mental Health?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-18, September.
    7. Stefano Predieri & Marta Cianciabella & Giulia Maria Daniele & Edoardo Gatti & Nico Lippi & Massimiliano Magli & Chiara Medoro & Federica Rossi & Camilla Chieco, 2023. "Italian Consumers’ Awareness of Climate Change and Willingness to Pay for Climate-Smart Food Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-14, March.
    8. Loredana Antronico & Maria Teresa Carone & Roberto Coscarelli, 2023. "An approach to measure resilience of communities to climate change: a case study in Calabria (Southern Italy)," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 28(4), pages 1-28, April.
    9. Zinette Bergman & Manfred Max Bergman, 2022. "Toward Sustainable Communities: A Case Study of the Eastern Market in Detroit," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-14, April.
    10. Francesco De Pascale, 2023. "Geographical Education and Climate Change Perception in Secondary School: A Case Study in Southern Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-15, February.
    11. Rachel Germanier & Niccolò Moricciani, 2023. "Perceiving and Adapting to Climate Change: Perspectives of Tuscan Wine-Producing Agritourism Owners," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-14, January.

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