STORRE
STORRE: Stirling Online Research Repository
http://hdl.handle.net/1893/32184| Appears in Collections: | Biological and Environmental Sciences Journal Articles |
| Peer Review Status: | Refereed |
| Title: | Effect of "finite pool of worry" and COVID-19 on UK climate change perceptions |
| Author(s): | Evensen, Darrick Whitmarsh, Lorraine Bartie, Phil Devine-Wright, Patrick Dickie, Jennifer Varley, Adam Ryder, Stacia Mayer, Adam |
| Keywords: | climate change finite pool of worry COVID-19 longitudinal United Kingdom |
| Issue Date: | 19-Jan-2021 |
| Date Deposited: | 18-Jan-2021 |
| Citation: | Evensen D, Whitmarsh L, Bartie P, Devine-Wright P, Dickie J, Varley A, Ryder S & Mayer A (2021) Effect of "finite pool of worry" and COVID-19 on UK climate change perceptions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118 (3), Art. No.: e2018936118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2018936118 |
| Abstract: | Research reveals that a “finite pool of worry” constrains concern about and action on climate change. Nevertheless, a longitudinal panel survey of 1,858 UK residents, surveyed in April 2019 and June 2020, reveals little evidence for diminishing climate change concern during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, the sample identifies climate change as a bigger threat than COVID-19. The findings suggest climate change has become an intransigent concern within UK public consciousness. |
| DOI Link: | 10.1073/pnas.2018936118 |
| Rights: | Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by PNAS. This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Licence URL(s): | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| e2018936118.full.pdf | Fulltext - Published Version | 500.76 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Concern about climate change does not decrease at all during COVID-19
What is it about?
The main take away from this research is that at least in the UK, there is no evidence that COVID-19 has led to any reduction in concern about or perceived reality of climate change. This is particularly interesting, because a number of psychologists a decade ago, in at least three independent studies, found that the financial crisis of 2008 led to reduced concern about climate change and reduced association of climate change with anthropogenic causes. The psychologists called this ‘finite pool of worry’ – meaning that there are only so many things a person can care about, and when a major crisis happens, something has to give. Following the financial crisis, it seemed that climate change was one thing that ‘gave’, and people in aggregate saw it is less of a problem. We are not seeing that same crowding out of climate change as an issue of concern now. Although our study was in the UK, we mention in the article some emergent findings by other researchers who point to similar conclusions in the United States.
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