The Effect of Out-Group Cues on Support for Climate Policy among White Americans

• In Event: Climate Politics, Environmental Policy, and Public Opinion

Abstract

Understanding American public opinion on climate action is vital for enacting effective climate legislation. I argue that racial perceptions influence how racially resentful
White Americans determine who deserves to benefit from climate policy. I test the relationship between out-group racial preferences and climate attitudes using data from
the Cooperative Election Study and a survey experiment on a representative sample
of Americans. In the observational data, I find that heightened racial resentment is
linked to reduced support for both domestic and international climate policies, regardless of political affiliation. In the experimental results, providing White respondents
with cues about people of color disproportionately benefiting from climate action or
being harmed by climate change decreases their support for climate action compared
to a control group, with the largest negative impact among highly racially resentful
respondents. These findings demonstrate how out-group cues influence the opinions of
White Americans on climate policy, irrespective of partisanship.

Author

• Eric Parajon, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill