It is widely assumed that psychological distance (PD) is a major barrier to climate action: i.e. that many people are not motivated to act because they perceive climate change as affecting only remote locations in the far future. Reducing PD is considered an effective strategy to increase climate action. This review, based on a systematic examination of the literature, shows that there is little evidence to support the prominence of PD. Opinion polls show that most people actually perceive climate change as occurring now and close by. Seeing climate change as more distant does not necessarily result in less climate action, and reducing PD does not reliably increase climate action. It is more effective to highlight that many people see climate change as already happening. |
