Going Viral: Public Attention and Environmental Action in the Amazon

Abstract

International agreements to reduce anthropogenic environmental disasters rely on public pressure to drive local action. We study whether focused media and increased public attention can drive local environmental action, reducing environmental damage. Although an annual affair, forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon went viral in August 2019, receiving unprecedented public scrutiny. Comparing active fires in Brazil versus those in Peru and Bolivia in a difference-in-differences design, we find that increased public attention reduced fires by 22%, avoiding 24.8 million tons of CO2 in emissions. Our results highlight the power of public attention to compel local action on pressing environmental issues.