Beliefs in climate change are influenced by personal experiences and sociodemographic characteristics; yet justice considerations are often overlooked. We unveil the influence of these factors' on climate change beliefs in a large American city facing substantial climate change impacts, Phoenix, Arizona. Using the Phoenix Area Social Survey that includes data collected from (n = 806) households across fourteen cities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, we investigate what factors influence a belief that “global warming and climate change are already occurring.” Engaging adaptive capacity and justice literatures with climate belief models, we find that belief in climate change and global warming is positively associated with race specifically other than non-Hispanic Whites, high levels of education, personal experience with heat-related illnesses, and liberal beliefs. Widespread agreement about climate change is found within the scientific community, but general populations, especially in the USA, lag behind in accepting climate change. Critically, there are important justice dimensions absent in the existing literature relevant to understanding belief in and the impacts of climate change. Unpacking these factors could help inform policy makers and civil society organizations in their efforts to design more “just adaptation” strategies.

对气候变化的信念受个人经历和社会人口统计学特征的影响；但是，司法考虑经常被忽略。我们将揭露这些因素对亚利桑那州凤凰城一个面临重大气候变化影响的美国大城市的气候变化信念的影响。使用凤凰城社会调查，其中包括从 凤凰城市区十四个城市的（n = 806）个家庭中收集的数据，我们调查了哪些因素会影响“全球变暖和气候变化已经在发生”的观念。通过将适应能力和正义文献与气候信念模型结合起来，我们发现，对气候变化和全球变暖的信念与种族正相关，特别是非西班牙裔白人，高学历，与热相关疾病的个人经历以及自由信念。在科学界内部已经找到了有关气候变化的广泛共识，但是一般民众，尤其是在美国，在接受气候变化方面滞后。至关重要的是，现有文献中缺少与理解气候变化的信念和影响有关的重要司法尺度。弄清这些因素可以帮助决策者和民间社会组织努力设计更多的“公正适应”战略。