Personal values and perceived benefits of sustainable transportation in commuting: a comparison of high- and low-ranking countries on the climate change performance index

Although attitudes toward sustainable commuting have become more positive in many countries, actual behavioral change remains slow. Meanwhile, the transport sector remains a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, with significant differences in sustainability efforts between governments in Northwest and Central Europe. This study builds on the value-attitude-behavior theory and external motivators by examining how human values, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and perceived government policies influence attitudes toward sustainable transport. We then assess how these variables relate to perceived benefits of sustainable transport when commuting. We compare Northwestern (Netherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden) and Central European countries (Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic), with different levels of climate policy implementation and performance, as reflected in their Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) rankings. Our results confirm that values play a central role in shaping sustainable transport attitudes, with distinct patterns emerging between countries with high and low CCPI scores. The study demonstrates that growth-focused values predict positive attitudes across both high- and low-ranking CCPI countries, while in high-ranking CCPI countries, social-focused and self-focused values also contribute. Beyond values, perceived behavioral control, social norms, and especially perceived government policy toward sustainability prove to be critical drivers of attitudes and perceived benefits of sustainable commuting.