Stable salience? The impact of political rhetoric on climate policy opinions and issue salience

The low salience of climate change – relative to issues such as the economy – means that politicians face limited public pressure to enact the necessary climate mitigation policies. Rhetoric from politicians about policies can sway public opinion, but it remains unclear how much political arguments can alter the public perception of an issue's salience. This study investigates the extent to which hypothetical party statements supporting or opposing a ban on exploration of new oil and gas fields influences opinions about this policy, and the salience of climate change. Results from a pre-registered online survey experiment of 1650 participants in Australia and New Zealand show that political statements impact policy support and opinions of policy efficacy, but have little discernible effect on participants’ perceptions of climate change salience. These results suggest that the public issue salience of climate change is stable, potentially making it challenging for politicians to pursue transformational climate policies.