Whose responsibility is it anyway? an examination of municipal officials' perceptions of their roles in addressing climate change

Climate change is a major public heath issues that requires major changes in every sector of society to help mitigate the effects. Action is necessary among policymakers and officials at all levels of government to address this public health issue. However, little is known about how municipal policymakers and government officials see their role in addressing climate change. In this study, 453 local elected officials and appointed department heads representing 8 states and 53 municipalities completed an on-line survey. Respondents were asked how important 11 issues were in the responsibilities of their current position on a five point Likert scale scored from 0-4. Overall climate change/energy conservation (m = 2.22) was the second lowest behind economic development (3.03), needs of vulnerable populations (2.81), smart growth (2.80), traffic safety (2.51) and public health (2.61). Only obesity (2.10) scored lower. Among the different job types, respondents from public health departments (1.81) were the least likely to rate climate change as an important part of their job. Bivariate analyses indicated that fiscal and social liberals and women rated climate change as a more important part of their job. Municipalities have an important role to play in mitigating climate change. However, most local and elected officials rate it lower in importance than other issues affecting their municipality. Awareness raising and education of municipal officials is needed to address the changing climate especially local health department directors.