Cross-Cultural Comparison of Climate Change Opinions, Beliefs, and Risk Perceptions in Morocco and the United States
Isaac Conrad
University of Minnesota Duluth
Keywords: climate change, public opinion, cross-cultural, audience segmentation
Abstract
As the climate crisis grows more severe, social science has emerged as a necessary tool to respond to climate change. More specifically, understanding human opinion and behavior is crucial for governments and institutions to adapt to climate change effectively. To better understand opinions, researchers have deployed various survey, audience segmentation, and qualitative typology strategies; however, much scholarly attention has been focused on industrialized, Western nations. Morocco has emerged as a leader on the international climate-policy stage, but the climate change opinions and beliefs of Moroccan citizens are unknown. In this article, I use the same survey, audience segmentation, and qualitative typology techniques to develop a greater understanding of Moroccan climate change opinions and subsequently compare them to American opinions. Findings indicate that Moroccans are more likely to believe in climate change, perceive risk from climate change, support bold climate policy, and discuss climate change with their immediate social circles. Double the percentage of Moroccans fall within the audience segment most concerned about climate change, and cultural differences likely play a large role in pro-climate motivations.
