Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper analyzes Italy's climate change responses from 2013 to 2023 using the Gradient Boosting Model (GBM). By employing this approach, it identifies regional differences and characteristics in climate change issues while examining the complexity of public perception and environmental impacts. While this study offers valuable insights into the relationship between public awareness and the climate crisis, several revisions are necessary for its consideration in an academic journal:

 

- The overall writing requires improvement for greater clarity, and professional English editing is essential.

 

- The paper lacks a dedicated section for a comprehensive review of prior studies and theoretical discussions. Although some references are included in the introduction, they are limited in scope. To enhance the study's validity and credibility, a thorough review of relevant literature is necessary, especially on the topic of risk perception. Given the extensive body of theories and previous research in this area, their absence raises concerns about the validity of the survey question design.

 

- While the paper provides details about respondent ratios, it fails to adequately discuss the European Social Survey (2020) dataset itself. There is a need to justify its suitability for this study. Additionally, while analyzing displacement is valid, support from prior research or theoretical perspectives on this approach is required.

 

- The paper does not sufficiently explain why specific variables were selected and what significance they hold. A detailed discussion on this aspect is necessary.

 

- The paper employs various methodologies, including Fuzzy-Hybrid TOPSIS, TOPSIS indicators, Causal Relationship Analysis, and GBM, but lacks a robust explanation of why these methods were chosen. Strengthening the methodological justification is crucial.

 

- The paper needs a clearer explanation of how displacement and public perception are combined and analyzed within the study framework. 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The English could be improved to more clearly express the research.

Author Response

This article aims to examine the phenomenon of displacement resulting from natural disasters and the attitudes of the Italian population towards climate change during the period between 2013 and 2023. The primary objective is to gain insight into how extreme weather events, often exacerbated by climate change, have driven internal migration and how socioeconomic variables influence community actions and opinions regarding the climate crisis.

The analysis employs advanced tools, including Fuzzy-Hybrid TOPSIS and Gradient Boosting Model, to identify the principal drivers of displacement. Among these, earthquakes and storms emerge as the primary causes of population displacement. Such phenomena have the capacity to exert an immediate impact on affected territories, while also influencing public perception and awareness of the necessity to address climate change. Furthermore, the study underscores the pivotal role of specific socioeconomic characteristics, including age, education level, income, employment status, and religious orientation, in shaping actions and attitudes toward climate change. Attitudes are not homogeneous; rather, they vary depending on demographic and social contexts. This variability is of critical importance for the design of strategies aimed at enhancing community resilience and reducing disparities in the ability to respond to extreme events. An essential preliminary step in the design of targeted interventions is the understanding of community attitudes toward climate change and their perceived role in its mitigation. Such understanding not only fosters greater public awareness but also facilitates the development of educational policies and social programs capable of building a broader consensus on the actions needed to address climate emergency.

It is important to consider the limitations of the study in order to evaluate its findings in a critical manner. Firstly, the analysis is constrained to Italy, a nation with distinctive cultural, economic, and climatic attributes that may not be illustrative of other international contexts. As a result, the conclusions may not be readily applicable to regions with different socioeconomic or geographic structures. A further limitation is the restricted set of socioeconomic variables that were considered. The analysis places significant emphasis on a limited set of independent factors, such as income, education, and age, while excluding other potentially relevant variables. Factors such as residence in an urban or rural area, family structure, social and geographic mobility, and energy consumption patterns could have provided a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of perceptions and actions toward climate change.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is a really interesting study on a very important topic. I do have some suggestions/recommendations that I believe will strengthen this work before it is ready for publication.

 

1. More information on IDMC and the data from it - it is just introduced on page 3 without any clarity (or even fully spelling out the acronym the first time) and it is also defined as "reliable" without any evidence. 

2. Some of the graphics are very hard to read/unclear.

3. Careful on overstating/minimizing certain types of data with statements like "perception vs reality." I would suggest more cautious language.

Author Response

This article aims to examine the phenomenon of displacement resulting from natural disasters and the attitudes of the Italian population towards climate change during the period between 2013 and 2023. The primary objective is to gain insight into how extreme weather events, often exacerbated by climate change, have driven internal migration and how socioeconomic variables influence community actions and opinions regarding the climate crisis.

The analysis employs advanced tools, including Fuzzy-Hybrid TOPSIS and Gradient Boosting Model, to identify the principal drivers of displacement. Among these, earthquakes and storms emerge as the primary causes of population displacement. Such phenomena have the capacity to exert an immediate impact on affected territories, while also influencing public perception and awareness of the necessity to address climate change. Furthermore, the study underscores the pivotal role of specific socioeconomic characteristics, including age, education level, income, employment status, and religious orientation, in shaping actions and attitudes toward climate change. Attitudes are not homogeneous; rather, they vary depending on demographic and social contexts. This variability is of critical importance for the design of strategies aimed at enhancing community resilience and reducing disparities in the ability to respond to extreme events. An essential preliminary step in the design of targeted interventions is the understanding of community attitudes toward climate change and their perceived role in its mitigation. Such understanding not only fosters greater public awareness but also facilitates the development of educational policies and social programs capable of building a broader consensus on the actions needed to address climate emergency.

It is important to consider the limitations of the study in order to evaluate its findings in a critical manner. Firstly, the analysis is constrained to Italy, a nation with distinctive cultural, economic, and climatic attributes that may not be illustrative of other international contexts. As a result, the conclusions may not be readily applicable to regions with different socioeconomic or geographic structures. A further limitation is the restricted set of socioeconomic variables that were considered. The analysis places significant emphasis on a limited set of independent factors, such as income, education, and age, while excluding other potentially relevant variables. Factors such as residence in an urban or rural area, family structure, social and geographic mobility, and energy consumption patterns could have provided a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of perceptions and actions toward climate change.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear authors,

The paper is interesting read. It is well-structured. However, I would like you to consider the following concerns I have with the paper.

To begin, I would like to see a critical reflection on the cultural aspects, Beyond doubt, perceptions and attitudes towards climate change are rooted in cultural norms and values. How would you characterise the policy response style i n Italy? In the context of the Covid19 pandemic, Van der Voorn and de Jong (2021) distinguished different types of policy response style. Overall, in the response to Covid19 among western European countries, They distinguish the following policy response styles:

• Mediterranean style: once the seriousness of the virus is recognized, drastic measures are to be taken to remedy the situation. This involves a full lockdown of (nearly) all business and public activity, a closing of the airports and borders, serious bureaucratic administration for people applying for permission to travel, active enforcement of the use of facemasks and heavy penalties for those who violate any of the above policy measures. This response style is typically reflected in the more severe suppression paradigm (see strategy 4 in Table 1) adopted by Italy, Spain and France.
• Continental style: upon the breakout and the apparent undeniability of its severe consequences, policy instruments at the curative end of the spectrum are applied. Light or partial lockdown is announced, social distancing is encouraged, traveling is discouraged and hospital capacity stepped up to the extent possible. On the other hand, some flights are kept in operation, borders are kept open, people maneuver around if they wish to and fines imposed for violations are comparatively low. Germany and Austria are the most notable examples of this style, which is reflected in the modest suppression paradigm adopted by them (see strategy 3 in Table 1). There is variety in this group to the extent that Germany and Austria tend to be a bit stricter than The Netherlands, and therefore can be considered a bridge to the third and last response style.
• Liberal style: in spite of the fact that infection and even death rates in surrounding countries begin their remarkable increase, national and local authorities worry little and brush aside the urge to act. Belief in the possible working of herd immunity is expressed and the idea that the national population is used as a medical testbed for the virus is not found to be an objectionable idea. In the UK and The Netherlands, this idea was firmly expressed and later revoked by the government upon public outcry, although policies remained remarkably carefree until a (comparatively) light lockdown became unavoidable. Sweden was the most extreme case in point, with no lockdown announced at any point, soft advice issued by the public authorities to citizens to “act responsibly” and overwhelming national pride in the government and the population at large for being more tolerant and relaxed than the rest of Europe and incurring less damage. When, further down the road, no other European countries seemed to comprehend and respect the Swedish position, active diplomatic action was undertaken to clarify the approach to neighbors. The style of the UK and The Netherlands resonates with the modest mitigation paradigm (see strategy 2 in Table 1), whereas the Swedish style corresponds to the severe mitigation paradigm (see strategy 1 in Table 1).

How would this relate to your findings? to what extent influence populist parties current perceptions?

For more info: van der Voorn, T.; de Jong, M. Cope or Perish? Managing Tipping Points in Developing Coping Strategies for Emergency Response during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Europe. COVID 2021, 1, 39-70. https://doi.org/10.3390/covid1010005

Secondly, it is interesting to see that people do not seem to consider climate change as an immediate threat. Likewise, Respondents do not perceive CC as the main driver for Climate Displacements. what would you recommend to make people aware of this?

Thirdly, please describe the strenghts and weaknesses of the research method applied.

 

 

 

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Minor issues:

Please re-read the text and check spelling and grammar issues.

Author Response

Manuscript ID: challenges-3346171

Bridging Attitudes and Evidence: Climate Change Perspectives in Italy

The authors gratefully acknowledge the constructive comments of the editor and reviewers that helped to improve the presentation of the paper. This document describes the way we have responded to the editor and reviewers’ comments and suggestions. Our responses are in italic and indicated by a “à” sign.

• See below how we have responded to each of the comments made by the referees.

Reviewer 3

Dear authors,

The paper is interesting read. It is well-structured. However, I would like you to consider the following concerns I have with the paper.

 To begin, I would like to see a critical reflection on the cultural aspects, Beyond doubt, perceptions and attitudes towards climate change are rooted in cultural norms and values. How would you characterise the policy response style i n Italy? In the context of the Covid19 pandemic, Van der Voorn and de Jong (2021) distinguished different types of policy response style. Overall, in the response to Covid19 among western European countries, They distinguish the following policy response styles:

1. Mediterranean style: once the seriousness of the virus is recognized, drastic measures are to be taken to remedy the situation. This involves a full lockdown of (nearly) all business and public activity, a closing of the airports and borders, serious bureaucratic administration for people applying for permission to travel, active enforcement of the use of facemasks and heavy penalties for those who violate any of the above policy measures. This response style is typically reflected in the more severe suppression paradigm (see strategy 4 in Table 1) adopted by Italy, Spain and France.
2. Continental style: upon the breakout and the apparent undeniability of its severe consequences, policy instruments at the curative end of the spectrum are applied. Light or partial lockdown is announced, social distancing is encouraged, traveling is discouraged and hospital capacity stepped up to the extent possible. On the other hand, some flights are kept in operation, borders are kept open, people maneuver around if they wish to and fines imposed for violations are comparatively low. Germany and Austria are the most notable examples of this style, which is reflected in the modest suppression paradigm adopted by them (see strategy 3 in Table 1). There is variety in this group to the extent that Germany and Austria tend to be a bit stricter than The Netherlands, and therefore can be considered a bridge to the third and last response style.
3. Liberal style: in spite of the fact that infection and even death rates in surrounding countries begin their remarkable increase, national and local authorities worry little and brush aside the urge to act. Belief in the possible working of herd immunity is expressed and the idea that the national population is used as a medical testbed for the virus is not found to be an objectionable idea. In the UK and The Netherlands, this idea was firmly expressed and later revoked by the government upon public outcry, although policies remained remarkably carefree until a (comparatively) light lockdown became unavoidable. Sweden was the most extreme case in point, with no lockdown announced at any point, soft advice issued by the public authorities to citizens to “act responsibly” and overwhelming national pride in the government and the population at large for being more tolerant and relaxed than the rest of Europe and incurring less damage. When, further down the road, no other European countries seemed to comprehend and respect the Swedish position, active diplomatic action was undertaken to clarify the approach to neighbors. The style of the UK and The Netherlands resonates with the modest mitigation paradigm (see strategy 2 in Table 1), whereas the Swedish style corresponds to the severe mitigation paradigm (see strategy 1 in Table 1).

How would this relate to your findings? to what extent influence populist parties current perceptions?

For more info: van der Voorn, T.; de Jong, M. Cope or Perish? Managing Tipping Points in Developing Coping Strategies for Emergency Response during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Europe. COVID 2021, 1, 39-70. https://doi.org/10.3390/covid1010005

• Thank you for your insightful feedback and thought-provoking questions. We appreciate the opportunity to reflect on the cultural and political dynamics that shape climate change perceptions and policy responses. For this reason, we have added the following in the document “As in Van der Voorn and De Jong [79], cultural norms and values exert a profound influence on perceptions of climate change in Italy, which in turn informs policy responses. Italy's approach to crisis management, as exemplified by its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, illustrates the efficacy of the Mediterranean model of policymaking, which entails swift and stringent measures such as lockdowns, border closures, and strict enforcement [79]. Furthermore, cultural factors, such as the presence of strong regional identities coupled with socio-economic disparities, exert a significant influence on perceptions of climate risk [58]. In economically vulnerable regions, the immediate priority of finding employment often supersedes environmental concerns, thereby contributing to the fragmentation of perceptions of urgency. This dynamic is reminiscent of the regional variation observed during the pandemic, where disparities influenced compliance and attitudes toward policy [58]. In addition, the majority of populist parties in Italy frequently downplay the scientific consensus on climate change, instead focusing their efforts on national priorities over global challenges [80,81]. This approach may diminish the perceived urgency of climate action, particularly in regions where populist influence is strong.”

Secondly, it is interesting to see that people do not seem to consider climate change as an immediate threat. Likewise, Respondents do not perceive CC as the main driver for Climate Displacements. what would you recommend to make people aware of this?

Thank you for your comment. It is true, it seems that people are not already aweare about the immediate threat of climate change. To answer to your question, we have added the following in the text “Following Durbin and Filer’s [82] study, to enhance public awareness of the present-day dangers of climate change and its function as a catalyst for displacement, it is essential to implement targeted strategies that resonate with the general public. The messaging could be tailored to the local context, emphasizing the connection between floods or wildfires and the impact of climate change in the immediate vicinity. Educational campaigns should elucidate the scientific principles underlying climate change, along with its socio-economic ramifications, employing straightforward language and illustrative examples [83].”

Thirdly, please describe the strenghts and weaknesses of the research method applied.

Thank you again for your valuable feedback and comments. In order to reinforce the strengths and weaknesses of the research method used, we have reformulated this part of the conclusion section as follows: By using the European Social Survey dataset, this paper benefits from a solid and widely respected source of validated data, ensuring the reliability and cross-national comparability of the results. In fact, the use of some quantitative techniques, such as Fuzzy-Hybrid TOPSIS and Gradient Boosting Models, allows for a complex relationship between climate perceptions, displacement and socio-economic factors. These methods provide an orderly integration of diverse data and allow actionable insights to be derived. However, the study also has limitations. First, the analysis is limited to Italy, a country with specific cultural, economic and climatic characteristics that may not be illustrative of other international contexts. As a result, the conclusions may not be readily applicable to regions with different socio-economic or geographical structures. Another limitation is the limited set of socio-economic variables considered. The analysis places significant emphasis on a limited set of independent factors, such as income, education and age, while excluding other potentially relevant variables. Factors such as residence in an urban or rural area, family structure, social and geographical mobility and energy consumption patterns could have provided a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of perceptions and actions towards climate change.

Minor issues:

Please re-read the text and check spelling and grammar issues.

Thank you for your suggestion. The recommendations made by the native English speaker have been incorporated into the revised text.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The author appears to have made efforts to enhance the validity and reliability of the paper by addressing the comments provided previously. Overall, the academic and practical value of the paper has significantly improved compared to the earlier version. Lastly, further supplementation of the review of prior studies could contribute to an additional qualitative enhancement of the paper.

Author Response

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to review and improve our manuscript. As per your suggestions, we have included additional references to strengthen the paper.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I appreciate the attention to my comments, as well as the work done in response to other reviewers. 

Author Response

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to review and improve our manuscript.