Análise do interesse do público brasileiro frente às mudanças climáticas a partir de uma plataforma online de busca

Abstract

Climate change currently represents the most serious and immediate threat faced by humanity, with far-reaching impacts in environmental, social, and economic spheres. In light of this scenario, it becomes essential to understand whether the population is truly interested in and engaged with the issue, that is, whether there is awareness and concern about the consequences of climate change. This interest is considered one of the main triggers for promoting behavioral change, both at the individual and collective levels. In this study, we investigate the degree of public interest in climate change among Brazilians and the factors that influence this interest. To do so, we use Relative Search Volumes (RSVs) for climate-related topics, extracted from the Google Trends tool, provided by the world’s largest search engine platform. This tool allows us to identify temporal trends and spatial variations in interest, including among different Brazilian states. Based on this data, we analyze whether interest in climate change varies according to sociodemographic factors (such as the Human Development Index — HDI, the Gini index, and the political leaning of the states) or in response to relevant historical events (such as the occurrence of extreme weather events, the release of IPCC reports, and the holding of the Conferences of the Parties — COPs). Our results indicate that states with lower HDI and higher Gini inequality values show greater interest in the topic, suggesting that populations more socioeconomically vulnerable, and therefore more exposed to the impacts of climate change, are more engaged in seeking information on the subject. The results regarding interest based on political leaning suggest that, in Brazil, the climate crisis is not a highly politically polarized issue. Furthermore, we found that interest increases significantly after the release of the IPCC reports, suggesting that Brazilians, in general, are interested in scientific information about climate. In contrast, no increase in interest was detected in connection with the COPs or media coverage of extreme climate events, which may indicate the limited effectiveness of these instances in promoting lasting awareness among the Brazilian public.