Correlates of Climate Change Risk Perception: Evidence from Latin America

Abstract Climate change risk perceptions are subjective constructs through which individuals make sense of potential damage or harm resulting from climate change. Identifying the determinant factors that influence such perceptions is consequential because assessments of risk can facilitate or hinder public participation in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. Scholars have shown that in the rich societies of the West, climate risk perception is associated with knowledge, political orientation, demographics, emotions, and personal experience with extreme weather events. Here we test the validity of these findings in the developing world. Through surveys, we show that unlike it is the case in the developed world, in Latin America climate risk perception is influenced by affect but not by cognition, ideology, demographics, or exposure to experience. We anticipate our findings to be a starting point for more sophisticated public risk communication strategies tailored for audiences in the Global South.