Seeing is Believing How Extreme Weather Event Experience and Media Attention Relate to Climate Policy Support
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, leaving large shares of the global population at risk and resulting in high economic costs. These events are highly visible and increasingly directly experienced by the public, which has the potential to reduce the psychological distance of climate change. Extreme weather events are not always directly experienced, and media coverage of these events has the potential to create mediated experience. Thus, the influence of extreme weather events experience on policy support may be affected by media coverage of these events. The main research question underlying this interdisciplinary project is: To what extent does experience of extreme weather events and media attention to the impact of climate change on extreme weather events influence public support for climate policies? This innovative project will strongly benefit from both the collaboration with Mike S. Schäfer and his group in climate change communication research at the University of Zurich and the Climate and Weather Risks Group at ETH Zurich.