Climate change experiences raise environmental concerns and promote green voting

Abstract Public support is fundamental in scaling up actions to limit global warming. Here, we analyze the impact of exposure to climate extremes on environmental concerns and Green voting for 29 and 24 European countries, respectively. Combining high-resolution climatological data with regionally aggregated and harmonized Eurobarometer surveys and European Parliamentary electoral data at the subnational level, we find a significant and sizeable effect of temperature anomalies, heat episodes and dry spells on environmental concern and voting. The effect sizes differ substantially and are most pronounced in regions with a cooler Continental or temperate Atlantic climate, and weaker in regions with a warmer Mediterranean climate. The relationships are moderated by regional GDP suggesting that climate change experiences increase public support for climate action but only under favorable economic conditions. The findings have important implications for the current efforts to promote climate protection in line with the Paris Agreement.