This paper reviews the social scientific literature on public attitudes towards climate change. In doing this, the authors identify some of the historical and contemporary issues known to influence perceptions not only towards climate change per se but also towards policies directed at mitigating and adapting to its potential and predicted threats. As described, basic demographic variables only carry so much predictive weight. More often than not, these attitudes reflect a complex interaction between various sociological variables, which explains the fluid and often contradictory nature of these perceptions.
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