Climate change communication matter for individual engagement in adaptation: The case of forest owners in Sweden

The study compared 1,493 Swedish forest owners who participated in climate communication projects with a random sample of 909 owners. It found that targeted communication significantly increased climate change awareness, concern, and the intention to take adaptive measures by influencing subjective risk perceptions and beliefs in personal ability. Additionally, the research noted that direct experience with extreme events drives adaptation intentions regardless of whether the individual attributes those events to climate change, and it identified social norms and economic rationales as potential barriers to individual adaptation.

• Targeted climate communication projects led to statistically significant increases in climate change awareness, concern, the perceived urgency to act, and intentions to implement adaptive measures among Swedish forest owners. The primary mechanism for this effect was the influence on subjective risk perceptions and the owners' beliefs in their own knowledge and ability.
• Direct experience with extreme weather events increases an individual's intention to take adaptive measures, and this effect occurs independently of whether the person believes climate change caused those extreme events.
• Social norms and economic rationales can act as impediments to individual climate adaptation, suggesting a need for communication practices to address these factors.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2020). Climate change communication matter for individual engagement in adaptation: The case of forest owners in Sweden. https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-change-communication-matter-individual-engagement-adaptation-forest-owners-sweden/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Climate change communication matter for individual engagement in adaptation: The case of forest owners in Sweden. 2020. https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-change-communication-matter-individual-engagement-adaptation-forest-owners-sweden/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Climate change communication matter for individual engagement in adaptation: The case of forest owners in Sweden |date=13 January 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-change-communication-matter-individual-engagement-adaptation-forest-owners-sweden/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2020climate, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Climate change communication matter for individual engagement in adaptation: The case of forest owners in Sweden}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-change-communication-matter-individual-engagement-adaptation-forest-owners-sweden/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }