Declining public concern about climate change: Can we blame the great recession?

► Public opinion about climate in the United States has deteriorated considerably in the last three or four years. ► Between April 2008 and September 2009, public concern about climate change fell as much in Europe as in the United States. ► The recent decline in public concern about climate change is better explained by unemployment than by “climategate”, negative media coverage, partisanship, or recent weather. ► Concern about climate change dropped more in European countries where unemployment rose more than in countries where it rose less.