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Table 5 Summary of the key findings and implications concerning climate change perceptions

From: Public perceptions of Lyme disease and climate change in southern Manitoba, Canada: making a case for strategic decoupling of climate and health messages

Key Findings

Implications:

• A wide range of knowledge on climate change exists, with a general superficial understanding – and in some cases deep misunderstanding – of the issue.

• More science education and communication on climate change is needed in southern MB.

• Future research is needed to better understand the relationship between knowledge of climate change, risk perception, and support for action.

• Few people denied climate change outright, but some degree of skepticism was present, mostly (but not exclusively) in the low climate concern groups and those in more rural areas.

• Climate change perspectives are complex, intersectional, and varying in a manner that creates a spectrum of viewpoints.

• Climate communications targeting these audiences should take into consideration the extent and drivers of skepticism.

• Perceived uncertainty around climate change was often expressed and linked to a perceived lack of credibility, reliability or consensus in climate science as well as a lack of understanding of science.

• Climate communicators should promote overall scientific literacy, while paying specific attention to the importance of framing messages in an accessible and relatable manner.

• Temporal, social, and geographical dimensions of psychological distancing of climate change also arose in discussions across groups.

• Results suggest that perhaps localizing and personalizing climate change messages is useful – and is supported by the literature – yet further research is needed to understand how psychological distancing might function within the Prairies especially in the context of other potential drivers (e.g. faith, political beliefs, views of nature, etc).