Extreme Weather Experiences, Emotional Reactions to Messages, and Support for Proclimate Policies

Abstract Climate communication can be pivotal in shaping public attitudes and behaviors toward energy policies. One potential pathway for effective climate communication is leveraging the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, which many personally experience. Emotions elicited by climate messaging also appear to influence public attitudes, yet studies exploring the impacts of such emotional responses remain scarce. Through a secondary analysis of data from Pew American Trends Panel (W89, April 2021), we found that personal experiences with extreme weather may enhance the receptiveness to climate messages by moderating political conservatives’ emotional responses to such communication. These moderated responses appear to influence participants’ attitudes toward energy policies, subtly shifting preferences toward proclimate positions. This study highlights the interplay between personal experiences, emotional reactions to media, and political ideology, offering actionable insights into how strategic climate communication can foster broader public engagement and support for sustainable energy policies. Significance Statement This study examines the intricate dynamics between political ideology, personal experiences with extreme weather events, and emotional reactions to climate change messaging on support for energy policies using data from a high-quality sample recruited by the Pew Research Center. Despite climate-skeptical emotional responses to proclimate messages on social media, political conservatives’ stances on energy policies appear to shift favorably with self-reported exposure to extreme weather. Our findings highlight the potential for real-world experiences to gradually influence policy preferences, underscoring the need for tailored communication strategies in climate advocacy. This research contributes to understanding how emotions and experiences intersect to shape public attitudes toward climate change, offering insights for policymakers and communicators seeking to engage conservative audiences more effectively.