Climate Canvassing in Divided Democracies-Field Experimental Evidence from India

• In Event: The Politics of Climate Change in South Asia

Abstract

Climate change represents one of the greatest policy challenges confronting governments around the world today. Yet relatively little is known about the determinants of citizens’ political action on climate change. What are the determinants of individual- and group-based political mobilization on climate change in rapidly industrializing economies? Survey evidence suggests that most citizens in developing countries agree that climate change is occurring and adversely affecting human lives and livelihoods. Yet political mobilization on climate change remains limited. Climate features low on the list of concerns motivating voting or political action. Consequently, elected representatives in developing countries face little bottom-up pressure to act adequately on climate change.

We theorize that hurdles to climate mobilization can be overcome via humanized testimonials about present-day climate impacts, delivered via in-person canvassing campaigns. Work in psychology indicates that vivid, visceral pieces of information can prompt substantial shifts in individuals’ attitudes. Recent experimental scholarship, moreover, points to the power of “perspective-taking” interventions in eroding social animosities and fostering empathy with vulnerable outgroups. Humanized testimonials can augment public concern about climate and voters’ likelihood of pressuring elected officials on the issue. Testimonials should have these effects by modifying beliefs about the material impacts of climate change and by fostering greater non-material empathy with the victims of climate change. Climate action is complicated by short time horizons, which de-emphasize long-run climate impacts, and uncertainty over an individual’s climate vulnerability. Personal testimonials help resolve both challenges. Discussion of present-day climate disruptions, first, accelerates the perceived timeline of climate impacts, vividly depicting the implications of climate change for livelihoods. Testimonials moreover clarify what climate change portends for individual communities or for people in certain lines of work, illuminating the material stakes of the issue for viewers.

This paper evaluates a scalable field intervention intended to test this theory. The core intervention in the study is the distribution of humanized testimonials on climate impacts through in-person canvassing campaigns. Our study is situated in two Indian states that vary in their ethnolinguistic makeup and climate vulnerability profiles. Working alongside a climate-focused NGO, we show randomly selected groups of subjects videotaped testimonials from fellow residents of their home state and other states in India. These testimonials offer true accounts of climate change impacts, and are produced by in collaboration with our NGO partner. We then evaluate whether being shown such “humanized” information increases individual support for government climate action and willingness to pressure local politicians accordingly. The core intervention in this study demonstrates how these strategies can prompt individuals to take meaningful action on climate unilaterally and in coordination with other community members, even in the presence of significant headwinds to mass climate mobilization.

Authors

• Nikhar Gaikwad, Columbia University

• Noah Zucker, London School of Economics