(iPoster) From Crisis to Threat: Security Frames and Support for Climate Migration Policy

• In Event: Poster Session: Science, Technology, and Environmental Politics

Abstract

This study examines how framing climate change as a driver of refugee crises affects public opinion toward climate mitigation and refugee protection. Using an original survey experiment conducted through the 2024 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (N=809), I test whether securitizing climate-induced migration increases support for climate policy while potentially undermining humanitarian commitments. Results reveal a refugee protection paradox: framing climate change explicitly through migration decreased support for refugee protection by 7.9% compared to control conditions (p=0.031), while security framing showed only marginal effects on climate support (p=0.047) with no overall treatment significance. These findings highlight critical risks of issue linkage: explicitly linking climate to cross-border migration triggers exclusionary attitudes that undermine humanitarian support without delivering clear benefits for climate policy.

Author

• Geraldine Tanno Santoso, University of Massachusetts, Amherst