Speaker: Nikhar Gaikwad

Title: Does Humanization Spur Climate Action? Evidence from a Canvassing Campaign in India

Abstract: Mass mobilization on climate change remains limited, even in climate-vulnerable democracies. Activists argue that emphasizing the human costs of climate change can rally voters on the issue. We theorize the mechanisms by which humanization may translate into mobilization. We then report results from a field experiment in India, implemented in conjunction with a local NGO, designed to evaluate these claims. Door-to-door canvassers showed random subjects video testimonials from fellow Indians describing their personal experiences of climate disruption. Others received impersonal news articles about climate change or apolitical placebo videos. We find that humanization of climate had no enduring effect on voters’ prioritization of the issue, willingness to pay for climate policy, nor their likelihood of taking real-world political action on climate. Humanization did build solidarity with climate-vulnerable communities, but this effect dissipated when the climate vulnerable were of an ethnic outgroup. These findings illuminate the barriers to climate mobilization in diverse democracies.