Vulnerability outpaces climate worry in U.S. frontline communities

Climate change impacts everyone, but those impacts are not distributed equally. Frontline communities (FLC) face disproportionate climate change harms, but that may not entail greater worry about them. Worries shape community priorities, and understanding these worries can improve engagement strategies. Here we integrate Climate Change in the American Mind project (n = 6,183) data with the U.S. Climate and Environmental Justice Screening Tool to explore climate change attitudes among people located in FLC compared with those not in FLC. People in FLC and non-FLC are equally worried about global warming. However, people in FLC are slightly more worried about several climate change impacts and are less likely to think there is scientific consensus that global warming is happening. Geographic analysis shows where FLC are most and least worried about global warming. This study shows a need for strategic communication in FLC regarding the connections between climate impacts and climate change.