Research
Published
Assessing inequities in electrification via heat pumps across the US
Abstract
Heat pumps are an energy-efficient and increasingly cost-effective solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector. However, other clean energy technologies, such as rooftop solar, are less likely to be adopted in underserved communities, and thus policies incentivizing their adoption may funnel support to well-resourced communities. Unlike previously studied technologies, the effects of heat pumps on household energy bills may be positive or negative depending on local climate, energy costs, building features, and other factors. Here, we propose a framework for assessing heat pump inequities across the US. We find that households in communities of color and with higher percentages of renters are less likely to use heat pumps across the board. Moreover, communities of color are least likely to use heat pumps in regions where they are most likely to reduce energy bills. Public policies must address these inequities to advance beneficial electrification and energy justice.
Working Papers
How the Public Defines Climate Security
Abstract
Under what conditions does the American public view climate change as a matter of national security, and what does that imply for climate policy attitudes? We treat securitization as a measurable public perception with the potential to affect policy support. We further theorize that securitization is more successful in the aftermath of major climate shocks that make climate impacts feel more urgent and proximal, heighten threat-related emotions, and raise perceived risk — conditions that also increase receptivity to elite security framing. We field two preregistered studies. Study 1, fielded in 2025, develops and validates a securitization index capturing whether respondents see an issue as implicating sovereignty, international power, military responsibility, and direct security threats. Study 2, planned for 2026, combines experimental survey methods with granular geospatial data on wildfire risk and exposure. Using a rolling design during peak wildfire season, we sample adults in high-risk areas and leverage quasi-random variation in wildfire timing to compare respondents who experience an actual wildfire to respondents in the same general area who do not. We test whether wildfire exposure and elite security framing increase securitization, and we explore how securitization relates to pro-climate attitudes and support for climate mitigation and adaptation policies.
How Psychological Distance shapes Americans' Climate Change Preferences: a Conjoint Analysis
Abstract
How does the psychological distance of natural disasters influence climate attitudes? Existing work that applies construal level theory (CLT) to study climate perceptions reports mixed effects, precluding clear messaging guidance for climate change communicators. We argue that prior experimental evidence mostly does not test distance dimensions independently, despite CLT being a multidimensional theory comprising social, spatial, temporal, and probabilistic distance. We contribute a systematic test of the effects of psychological distance on climate attitudes by independently manipulating each distance dimension via a preregistered conjoint experiment about floods. Study 1 recruited 700 Republicans, finding that socially proximate natural disasters that affect one's ingroup consistently increase pro-climate attitudes. However, spatial, temporal, and probabilistic distance generally do not have a significant effect. Specifically, highlighting the impacts of climate on social ingroups can increase Republicans' pro-climate attitudes by up to 5 percentage points. Our proposed Study 2 applies a national sample, validates our manipulations, and tests theoretically relevant mechanisms — including ingroup identification strength, moral foundations, and affective responses — that may account for the outsized effects of social distance.
Works in Progress
Carbon Adjusted: Global South Firms' Perceptions of Carbon Pricing and Trade-Based Decarbonization
Common but Differentiated Justice? How COP Delegates Perceive Justice and Cooperation
Just Phaseout: How International Climate Finance Drives Indonesia's Energy Transition
No "Human Labels as Gold Standard": When LLMs Make Mistakes, Humans Do Too
Paris Agreement Polarizes U.S. Local Policymakers on Climate Action