Understanding sociodemographic differences in climate behavior, climate policy acceptance, and political participation
Introduction: To mitigate the global health threat posed by climate change, multifaceted responses are required. In previous work, older, male, and highly educated individuals were shown to exhibit greater general readiness to act against climate change; the same is true for people living in larger...
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Journal of Climate Change and Health |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667278224000567 |
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| author | Lena Lehrer Lennart Hellmann Cornelia Betsch |
| author_facet | Lena Lehrer Lennart Hellmann Cornelia Betsch |
| author_sort | Lena Lehrer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: To mitigate the global health threat posed by climate change, multifaceted responses are required. In previous work, older, male, and highly educated individuals were shown to exhibit greater general readiness to act against climate change; the same is true for people living in larger communities. Yet, the sociodemographic effects may vary for the single facets of the readiness to act against climate change—namely individual climate-friendly behavior, acceptance of climate-protection policies, and political participation. Methods: Data from four waves (2022–2023) of the Planetary Health Action Survey (PACE) were analyzed (N = 3,830, nonprobabilistic representative German sample). Sociodemographic variables (gender, age, community size, education and others) and the three abovementioned facets of the readiness to act against climate change were assessed to examine their relationships. Results: Patterns varied between the indicators. Women and older individuals exhibited more climate-friendly behavior and policy acceptance. In contrast, levels of political participation were higher for men and younger individuals. Higher education was linked to less sustainable behavior, greater policy acceptance, and higher participation, while municipality size was only linked to the latter two. Additional analyses explore the relations between age and the constructs at item level. Conclusions: Findings underscore the importance of a nuanced understanding of people's readiness to act against climate change. Depending on communication objectives, different target groups may be relevant, e.g., do campaigners want to increase political participation vs. change individual behaviors. While older individuals exhibit greater readiness to act via individual behavior and policy acceptance, it is important to include young people in climate-communication efforts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e71333d3e95d4021b621c0d10f56904e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2667-2782 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | The Journal of Climate Change and Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-e71333d3e95d4021b621c0d10f56904e2025-02-11T04:35:34ZengElsevierThe Journal of Climate Change and Health2667-27822025-01-0121100353Understanding sociodemographic differences in climate behavior, climate policy acceptance, and political participationLena Lehrer0Lennart Hellmann1Cornelia Betsch2Health Communication, Implementation Research, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Health Communication Working Group, Bernhard Nocht Straße 74, 20359 Hamburg, Germany; Health Communication, Institute for Planetary Health Behaviour, University of Erfurt, Universität Erfurt, Nordhäuser Straße 63, 99089 Erfurt, Germany; Corresponding author.Health Communication, Institute for Planetary Health Behaviour, University of Erfurt, Universität Erfurt, Nordhäuser Straße 63, 99089 Erfurt, GermanyHealth Communication, Institute for Planetary Health Behaviour, University of Erfurt, Universität Erfurt, Nordhäuser Straße 63, 99089 Erfurt, Germany; Health Communication, Implementation Research, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Health Communication Working Group, Bernhard Nocht Straße 74, 20359 Hamburg, GermanyIntroduction: To mitigate the global health threat posed by climate change, multifaceted responses are required. In previous work, older, male, and highly educated individuals were shown to exhibit greater general readiness to act against climate change; the same is true for people living in larger communities. Yet, the sociodemographic effects may vary for the single facets of the readiness to act against climate change—namely individual climate-friendly behavior, acceptance of climate-protection policies, and political participation. Methods: Data from four waves (2022–2023) of the Planetary Health Action Survey (PACE) were analyzed (N = 3,830, nonprobabilistic representative German sample). Sociodemographic variables (gender, age, community size, education and others) and the three abovementioned facets of the readiness to act against climate change were assessed to examine their relationships. Results: Patterns varied between the indicators. Women and older individuals exhibited more climate-friendly behavior and policy acceptance. In contrast, levels of political participation were higher for men and younger individuals. Higher education was linked to less sustainable behavior, greater policy acceptance, and higher participation, while municipality size was only linked to the latter two. Additional analyses explore the relations between age and the constructs at item level. Conclusions: Findings underscore the importance of a nuanced understanding of people's readiness to act against climate change. Depending on communication objectives, different target groups may be relevant, e.g., do campaigners want to increase political participation vs. change individual behaviors. While older individuals exhibit greater readiness to act via individual behavior and policy acceptance, it is important to include young people in climate-communication efforts.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667278224000567Target-group segmentationSocial marketingEnvironmental psychologyPublic-health messagingSociodemographic factors in climate-change communicationClimate-change communication strategies |
| spellingShingle | Lena Lehrer Lennart Hellmann Cornelia Betsch Understanding sociodemographic differences in climate behavior, climate policy acceptance, and political participation The Journal of Climate Change and Health Target-group segmentation Social marketing Environmental psychology Public-health messaging Sociodemographic factors in climate-change communication Climate-change communication strategies |
| title | Understanding sociodemographic differences in climate behavior, climate policy acceptance, and political participation |
| title_full | Understanding sociodemographic differences in climate behavior, climate policy acceptance, and political participation |
| title_fullStr | Understanding sociodemographic differences in climate behavior, climate policy acceptance, and political participation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding sociodemographic differences in climate behavior, climate policy acceptance, and political participation |
| title_short | Understanding sociodemographic differences in climate behavior, climate policy acceptance, and political participation |
| title_sort | understanding sociodemographic differences in climate behavior climate policy acceptance and political participation |
| topic | Target-group segmentation Social marketing Environmental psychology Public-health messaging Sociodemographic factors in climate-change communication Climate-change communication strategies |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667278224000567 |
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