Open Access
Environmental sustainability from below : public opinions across the Globe
Loading...
Files
SPES-D8.1.pdf (2.25 MB)
Full-text in Open Access, Published version
License
Access Rights
Cadmus Permanent Link
Full-text via DOI
ISBN
ISSN
1028-3625
Issue Date
Type of Publication
LC Subject Heading
Other Topic(s)
EUI Research Cluster(s)
Initial version
Published version
Succeeding version
Preceding version
Published version part
Earlier different version
Initial format
Author(s)
Citation
SPES; Working Paper; 2025/8.1; Florence School of Regulation; [Climate]
Cite
DOKKEN, Therese, SCHOYEN, Mi Ah, CAMMEO, Jacopo, Environmental sustainability from below : public opinions across the Globe, SPES, Working Paper, 2025/8.1, Florence School of Regulation, [Climate] - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/92576
Abstract
Against the backdrop that most political economies across the globe need to promote transitions towards more environmentally sustainable public policies and economic practices, we ask what factors explain public support for and opposition to such trajectories among people living in different institutional and socio-economic contexts. To study this, we used survey data on individual attitudes from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 2020 module on the environment. The dataset included a random sample of adult population in 28 countries. The analysis was organised in two steps. First, we examined whether improvement in living standards for people should now be prioritised over the preservation of nature for future generations, commonly referred to as the trade-off between economic growth and the environment. Next, we studied public support for and opposition to three specific environmental policy instruments: higher prices, higher taxes and decreased standard of living across numerous countries in the Global South and Global North. The countries differ greatly both in terms of human development, welfare systems and vulnerability to climate change. The motivation is to examine how these variations influence individual priorities in transition processes. The analysis results showed that the correlation between individual-level variables and pro[1]environmental attitudes varies across countries, and the results from the regression models were only partially in line with previous literature in this field. Importantly, typical explanatory factors identified in previous studies using data from Europe and North America explain, only to some degree, the variation in attitudes in other parts of the world. The explanatory power of our models is particularly weak in the case of acceptance of environmental policy instruments that facilitate the transition to more sustainable societies in countries with low rankings on the Human Development Index.
Table of Contents
Additional Information
Published online: February 2025
Geographical Coverage
Temporal Coverage
Version
Source
Source Link
Research Projects
f396b6e8-c4df-4690-890f-8d68f60db5f4
Sponsorship and Funder Information
Project funded by European Union’s Horizon Europe Programme under Grant Agreement No. 101094551