12 Years Left: How a Climate Change Action Deadline Influences Perceptions and Engagement

ABSTRACT

Following the release of a 2018 IPCC report, numerous news media announced we have only “12 years” to avoid abrupt, catastrophic climate change. This experiment tested the influence of this climate change “deadline-ism” message in a news article on participant perceptions of and engagement with climate change. A news article presenting the “deadline-ism” message increased perceptions of the threat of climate change and support for government prioritizing climate change, compared to a control condition. It also increased a sense of collective and individual response efficacy in addressing climate change. We also tested the influence of an article refuting the idea of a deadline for action to avoid abrupt climate catastrophe, which increased perceptions of individual and collective response efficacy.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate change
• psychological distance
• construal level theory
• perceived efficacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and University of Central Florida College of Sciences.