THE EFFECT OF POLITICAL SYMPATHIES ON CLIMATE CHANGE PERCEPTION

Abstract: In contemporary society, numerous countries are experiencing an upsurge in polarization and its advancement has made itself palpable in a number of topics of debate, one of which is climate change. The public opinion on the matter varies on aggregate and individual levels and previous research has found political sympathies to be one of the most prominent determinants for one’s climate change perception. Previous research has reached consensus on how one’s ideological alignment correlates with one’s climate change perception; however, there is a distinct research gap in this discourse. As political polarization fuels the politicization of topics and events, much points to it affecting individuals’ climate change perception. This thesis examines the correlation between political sympathies and climate change perception in a comparative study amongst countries with high and low degrees of polarization via a regression analysis. The regression results show that there are contrasts in said correlations; however, certain results are surprising and indicate that further analysis on specific aspects of the topic is needed.