Abstract
Lack of public support for drastic measures to address climate change is a core problem for climate policy today. In this PhD project, I study Belgian public opinion with regard to climate change and climate change policies, with special attention for the crucial role of (correct, effective) information. This project consists of four studies that are integrated and build on one another in a cumulative fashion. (1) Through the use of a survey, I look at the sources of information (traditional media, social media and interpersonal network) people use to inform themselves about climate change and climate change policy; I correlate media use with individuals' climate knowledge, attitudes and behaviour and build a typology of population segments based on their climate predispositions. (2) The climate policy frames used by policy makers and political actors are examined by means of a content analysis; I look at arguments used in party manifestos, government agreements, newspapers and on Twitter. (3) I investigate the effect of (counter) frames on climate policy support by way of a series of survey-embedded experiments that treat subjects with a variation of single frames and counter frames, with combinations of frames and counter frames, and with a variation of senders of the frames. (4) I examine whether framing effects are conditioned by individuals' social group identification, both partisan and broader, and their climate predispositions.
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