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Connecting climate change to important issues increases perception of climate change as a risk multiplier

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  • Deidra Miniard

    (The University of Texas at Austin
    Indiana University Bloomington)

  • Shahzeen Z. Attari

    (Indiana University Bloomington)

Abstract

Climate change exacerbates many existing challenges such as economic issues and public health, yet the public struggles to connect climate change to other issues they care about. Research on climate change communication suggests that framing messages to align with people's existing priorities and concerns can increase engagement, though evidence on the effectiveness of different frames remains mixed. Our study tested whether connecting climate change to salient issues influences participant perceptions of climate change as a risk multiplier, their systems thinking, their policy support, and their ability to connect climate change to other issues. An online experiment (N = 2,165) randomly assigned participants to one of five conditions: (1) immigration, (2) inflation, (3) racial justice, (4) messaging matching the participants’ most important issue out of the three, and (5) a no-information control. Those exposed to vignettes were more likely to agree that climate change will exacerbate existing issues, but this did not improve systems thinking or increase policy support, except for a climate-refugee resettlement policy in the immigration condition.

Suggested Citation

  • Deidra Miniard & Shahzeen Z. Attari, 2025. "Connecting climate change to important issues increases perception of climate change as a risk multiplier," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 178(11), pages 1-22, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:178:y:2025:i:11:d:10.1007_s10584-025-04034-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-025-04034-y
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