A majority of Americans support climate-friendly content in entertainment
In this investigation we examine whether US Adults believe that Hollywood should increase the visibility of climate solutions and climate-friendly behaviors in entertainment. In two well-powered studies (Study 1: N=1,199; Study 2: N=1,475), we find overwhelming support: 65-70% of Americans say that they want Hollywood to feature more climate-friendly actions in TV shows and movies in order to help fight climate change. Support is high for showcasing green energy, green jobs, low-carbon transport and electric vehicles, and for showing the impacts of climate change. However, we also find and replicate evidence of varying-levels of hesitation across respondents about the inclusion of content that features either plant-based meals or vegan/vegetarian characters. Despite the caveats about representations of plant-based diets, the data suggests that - despite polarization in many other domains - a large proportion of Americans are strongly supportive of the entertainment industry using its cultural power to grant greater visibility to both the impacts of climate change and the range of actions that we can take to mitigate and adapt.
Authors
- Anirudh Tiwathia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8874-5124)
- Stylianos Syropoulos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5622-1417)
- Samira A. Dodson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3407-6913)
- Ellis Watamanuk
- Erik Thulin
- Kyle Fiore Law
Institutions
- University of Utah (US)
- Supreme Court of the United States (US)
- Caesars Entertainment (United States) (US)
- Arizona State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Climatic Change
- Published
- 2026-07-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-026-04258-6
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Climate Change Communication and Perception
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00