How Much do People Care about Climate Natural Disasters?

TL;DR

This study investigates whether natural disasters influence public concern about climate change, finding that most people's happiness remains unaffected by disasters, yet they significantly impact governmental actions, highlighting a disconnect between individual well-being and climate policy.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence that natural disasters have minimal impact on individual happiness but influence policy-making, revealing a psychological disconnect affecting climate change responses.

Findings

Natural disasters barely affect individual happiness and life satisfaction.

Most citizens' perceptions are not influenced by regional disasters.

Government actions are shaped more by affected minorities than by general public perception.

Abstract

Scientists agree about the urgency of the problem of climate change. Most citizens, however, pay little attention to gradually increasing temperature levels. Growing numbers of natural disasters in the world might then play a fundamental role as the key signal to alert humanity to the severity of the problem of the changing climate. But is that potential mechanism working? In this empirical examination (N>2 million over three decades in 93 countries), we show for the first time that a typical person's happiness and life satisfaction is barely affected by natural disasters in their region. Yet these are the individuals -- as opposed to the minority literally flooded or literally badly affected by hurricanes -- who effectively shape how governments act. This study's ``psychological near-irrelevance'' result is deeply troubling.