Trust in climate scientists is associated with political ideology: A 26-country analysis

Abstract

Trust in climate scientists is critical for public awareness about climate change and engagement in climate change mitigation actions. Previous research has shown that right-wing political ideology is associated with lower trust in climate scientists. However, much of this research has focused primarily on Western, Anglophone countries, raising questions about the generalizability of this relationship across countries. To address this gap in our preregistered study, we analyze cross-sectional, secondary data across 26 countries from all inhabited continents (n = 10,641). While the results indicate generally high levels of trust, individuals with a stronger right-leaning (vs. left-leaning) political ideology reported lower trust in climate scientists. This relationship was more pronounced among individuals with higher education, although the effect size was small and uncertain. Furthermore, the relationship between ideology and trust was stronger in Anglophone (vs. non-Anglophone) countries. Additionally, exploratory analyses showed that the relationship between ideology and trust was also stronger in countries with a higher democracy index and gross domestic product per capita. In sum, to increase overall public trust in climate scientists, climate change communication strategies can focus more on right-leaning communities across most studied countries, as trust in climate scientists is generally lower among these groups.