Messages from co-partisan elected officials can increase climate mitigation intentions without changing climate beliefs.

Abstract

Increasing belief in climate change is often considered a prerequisite to motivating climate action. However, partisan polarization has crystallized climate beliefs, and the narrowing window for climate mitigation demands urgent behavior change. This study investigates whether messages from co-partisan elected officials can directly boost intentions to adopt climate-friendly behaviors without changing underlying beliefs about climate change. In two preregistered survey experiments-one on solar panels (n = 9298) and one on electric vehicles (n = 9903)-I find that co-partisan elite messages can increase climate-mitigation intentions among self-reported Republicans and Democrats alike, even though such messages do not affect climate beliefs. Furthermore, I find that messages centering climate change are just as persuasive for Republicans as non-climate framings, challenging previous work showing that climate change rhetoric triggers a "backfire effect" reducing Republicans' mitigation behaviors. Finally, I test the theory of "credibility-enhancing displays" and find limited evidence that partisan elites are more effective at motivating mitigation intentions when they themselves engage in those behaviors.