Not in my back yard: Egocentrism and climate change skepticism across the globe

Unusually warm or cool weather has a short-term influence on public opinion of "global warming." This paper extends this idea by showing that both regional climate (average long-term temperature) and seasonal variation in average temperature predict variation in public skepticism about global warming. Analyses of both polling data and Google search volume data show that in regions with colder climates (both U.S. states and nations), there is more public skepticism about global warming. The effects of climate remained even after controlling for regional confounds such as age, education, income, cultural values, and political attitudes. Follow-up analyses suggested that cold temperatures play a stronger role than hot temperatures in shaping public skepticism about global warming. A third study set focusing on four English-speaking nations suggested that seasonal variation in temperature is also predictably related to public skepticism about global warming. Public opinion about the reality of this specific aspect of climate change appears to be susceptible to egocentric biases such as memorial availability and construct accessibility. All else being equal, climate change educators will likely face more pushback about global warming in places with cold climates and at times of the year when the weather is cold.