Climate Change Concern, Personal Responsibility and Actions Related to Climate Change Mitigation in EU Countries: Cross-Cultural Analysis

EasyChair Preprint no. 3980

Abstract

In order to achieve the targets of climate change policy, it is important not only to enhance the climate change concern, but also to promote climate-friendly behaviour. Encompassing the EU countries the aim of this paper was to analyse how economic development and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions contributed to climate change concern, personal responsibility and actions related to climate change mitigation. Furthermore, considering that actions related to climate change mitigation have different cost and benefit, in this study we revealed whether climate change concern and personal responsibility equally influenced all actions related to climate change mitigation, and whether all types of actions were guided by the same goals. The results showed that the performance of actions related to climate change mitigation varied across European countries. The largest share of respondents declared that they reduce waste and regularly separate it for recycling. Meanwhile, the least people noticed that they perform high-cost actions as: installation of solar panels in home, purchase of low-energy home and electric car. Economic development level significantly influenced assumption of personal responsibility and the amount of actions related to climate change mitigation, but not climate change concern. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions differently influenced climate change concern, responsibility and the amount of actions. Considering separate actions related to climate change mitigation, the assumption of personal responsibility significantly and positively influenced almost all actions. Climate change concern positively and significantly affected only low-cost actions. Due to the different costs and guiding goals, respondents which performed one action did not necessarily perform other action related to climate change mitigation.

Keyphrases: Climate change concern, pro-environmental behavior, responsibility

@Booklet{EasyChair:3980,
  author = {Genovaitė Liobikiene and Miglė Jakucionyte-Skodiene},
  title = {Climate Change Concern, Personal Responsibility and Actions Related to Climate Change Mitigation in EU Countries: Cross-Cultural Analysis},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint no. 3980},

  year = {EasyChair, 2020}}