The Role of Perceived Risk, Uncertainty, and Trust on Coastal Climate Change Adaptation Planning

This study examines support for climate adaptation planning and the role of perceived risk, uncertainty, and trust on adaptation of U.S. coastal communities. This assessment is based on the analysis of webbased questionnaires (n = 137) among state, local, and non-government organization (NGO) planners in Alaska, Florida, and Maryland. Ordinal regression and correlation analysis were used to assess which factors are related to support for adaptation during two planning stages. Findings from this study suggest the influence of perceived risk, uncertainty, and trust on support for climate change adaptation (CCA) varies across two stages of adaptation planning (support for the development of plans and willingness to allocate human and financial resources to implement plans). The disaggregation of planning entities into different study areas and levels of management revealed significant differences in the relationship between perceived risk, uncertainty, and trust and support for CCA planning. These findings have implications for the design of communication and engagement strategies. 1Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, Fairbanks, AK, USA 2Alaska Climate Science Center, Anchorage, AK, USA 3University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA 4Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments, Columbia, SC, USA Corresponding Author: Nathan P. Kettle, Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, 930 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA. Email: [email protected] 551049 EABXXX10.1177/0013916514551049Environment and BehaviorKettle and Dow research-article2014 at University of Aegean on April 5, 2015 eab.sagepub.com Downloaded from 2 Environment and Behavior