IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i12p5568-d1681025.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Development Through the Lens of Climate Change: A Diagnosis of Attitudes in Southeastern Rural Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Magdalena Kowalska

    (Department of Statistics and Social Policy, Faculty of Agriculture and Economics, University of Agriculture in Kraków, 21 Mickiewicza Avenue, 31-120 Kraków, Poland)

  • Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka

    (Faculty of Economics, Jacob of Paradies Academy in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Chopin Street 52, 66-400 Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland)

Abstract

Climate change today is considered one of the most severe global problems. Additionally, it is inherently linked to sustainable development, particularly considering that it is a widespread problem affecting virtually all regions, countries, and continents. Therefore, it is essential to monitor its perception and behaviours towards it. Hence, there is the need for a diagnosis of climate-change attitudes found in various parts of the world. This premise is the foundation for the original study reported in the article. It offers the results of a survey of 300 adult rural residents from southeastern Poland. The article aims to diagnose the respondents’ attitudes towards climate change in the context of sustainable development premises. Respondents’ opinions on the potential activities their local communities could take to be more sustainable are a substantial part of the results. The most common suggestions were low-emission public transport (in the Wadowice District, it was 55% of responses) and road and street redesign to promote safe cycling and walking environments (in the Kraków and Tarnów Districts, over 50% of responses). The respondents found the promotion of sustainable development among youth and older people to be the least important (in three out of five districts, this percentage did not exceed 20%). The other thematic block was specific environmental protection and sustainable development activities that society should prioritise over a five-year horizon. The participants considered the development of new ways to eliminate waste in total production (in the Tarnów District, over 73% of responses), new technologies to curb the carbon footprint and GHG emissions (over 63% in the Wadowice District), and new technologies to scrape and monitor air pollutants (approx. 70% in the Kraków District).

Suggested Citation

  • Magdalena Kowalska & Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka, 2025. "Sustainable Development Through the Lens of Climate Change: A Diagnosis of Attitudes in Southeastern Rural Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-21, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:12:p:5568-:d:1681025
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/12/5568/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/12/5568/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Natalia Bartkowiak-Bakun, 2025. "Diversification of Rural Development in Poland: Considerations in the Context of Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-19, January.
    2. Levent Kutlu, 2020. "Greenhouse Gas Emission Efficiencies of World Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-11, November.
    3. Dawid Soszyński & Piotr Kociuba & Andrzej Tucki, 2024. "Sustainable Spatial Development of Multifunctional Villages: A Case Study of Eastern Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-24, September.
    4. David B. Lindenmayer, 2023. "Forest Biodiversity Declines and Extinctions Linked with Forest Degradation: A Case Study from Australian Tall, Wet Forests," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-19, February.
    5. John Ikerd, 2024. "Business Management for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-19, April.
    6. Matthias Winfried Kleespies & Paul Wilhelm Dierkes, 2020. "Personal Assessment of Reasons for the Loss of Global Biodiversity—an Empirical Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-20, May.
    7. Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka & Stefan Dyrka & Andrzej Kokiel & Edward Urbańczyk, 2024. "Sustainable HR and Employee Psychological Well-Being in Shaping the Performance of a Business," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-17, December.
    8. Ting-Ting Li & Kai Wang & Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Derek D. Wang, 2021. "ESG: Research Progress and Future Prospects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-28, October.
    9. Aryan Saxena & Jai Prakash Gupta & Janmejay Kumar Tiwary & Ashutosh Kumar & Saurav Sharma & Gaurav Pandey & Susham Biswas & Krishna Raghav Chaturvedi, 2024. "Innovative Pathways in Carbon Capture: Advancements and Strategic Approaches for Effective Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-32, November.
    10. Han Zou & Yang Liu & Baihao Li & Wenjing Luo, 2022. "Sustainable Development Efficiency of Cultural Landscape Heritage in Urban Fringe Based on GIS-DEA-MI, a Case Study of Wuhan, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-16, October.
    11. Andrzej Raszkowski & Bartosz Bartniczak, 2019. "On the Road to Sustainability: Implementation of the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, January.
    12. Neil Ward & David L. Brown, 2009. "Placing the Rural in Regional Development," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(10), pages 1237-1244, December.
    13. Joeri Rogelj & Michel den Elzen & Niklas Höhne & Taryn Fransen & Hanna Fekete & Harald Winkler & Roberto Schaeffer & Fu Sha & Keywan Riahi & Malte Meinshausen, 2016. "Paris Agreement climate proposals need a boost to keep warming well below 2 °C," Nature, Nature, vol. 534(7609), pages 631-639, June.
    14. Yaxiong Ma & Sucharita Gopal & Xinyue Ma & Kevin Gallagher & Magaly Koch & Les Kaufman, 2023. "The Deforestation and Biodiversity Risks of Power Plant Projects in Southeast Asia: A Big Data Spatial Analytical Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-25, October.
    15. Piotr Gołasa & Marcin Wysokiński & Wioletta Bieńkowska-Gołasa & Piotr Gradziuk & Magdalena Golonko & Barbara Gradziuk & Agnieszka Siedlecka & Arkadiusz Gromada, 2021. "Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Agriculture, with Particular Emphasis on Emissions from Energy Used," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-20, June.
    16. Paweł Dziekański & Piotr Prus, 2020. "Financial Diversity and the Development Process: Case study of Rural Communes of Eastern Poland in 2009–2018," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-25, August.
    17. Otto Spijkers, 2018. "Intergenerational Equity and the Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-12, October.
    18. Ghada El-Sharkawy & Modhi O. Alotaibi & Raghda Zuhair & Esawy Mahmoud & Ahmed El Baroudy & Alaa El-Dein Omara & Mahmoud El-Sharkawy, 2025. "Ecological Assessment of Polluted Soils: Linking Ecological Risks, Soil Quality, and Biota Diversity in Contaminated Soils," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-29, February.
    19. Marcin K. Widomski & Anna Musz-Pomorska, 2023. "Sustainable Development of Rural Areas in Poland since 2004 in the Light of Sustainability Indicators," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-29, February.
    20. Tom Kuhlman & John Farrington, 2010. "What is Sustainability?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(11), pages 1-13, November.
    21. Haitao Hou & Wei Lu & Bing Liu & Zeina Hassanein & Hamid Mahmood & Samia Khalid, 2023. "Exploring the Role of Fossil Fuels and Renewable Energy in Determining Environmental Sustainability: Evidence from OECD Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-13, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Guokui Wang & Yangyang Li & Guoqin Wu, 2025. "Risk Aversion Mediates the Impact of Environmental Change Perceptions on Farmers’ Livelihood Strategies: A PLS-SEM Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-19, October.
    2. Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka & Bartosz Błaszczak & Szymon Godawa & Izabella Kęsy, 2025. "Human Safety in Light of the Economic, Social and Environmental Aspects of Sustainable Development—Determination of the Awareness of the Young Generation in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-22, July.
    3. Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka & Magdalena Kowalska & Krzysztof Czyrka, 2025. "The Problem of Transforming the Energy System Towards Renewable Energy Sources as Perceived by Inhabitants of Rural Areas in South-Eastern Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-21, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka & Bartosz Błaszczak & Szymon Godawa & Izabella Kęsy, 2025. "Human Safety in Light of the Economic, Social and Environmental Aspects of Sustainable Development—Determination of the Awareness of the Young Generation in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-22, July.
    2. Marcin K. Widomski & Anna Musz-Pomorska, 2023. "Sustainable Development of Rural Areas in Poland since 2004 in the Light of Sustainability Indicators," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-29, February.
    3. Ivan Paunovic & Cathleen Müller & Klaus Deimel, 2023. "Citizen Participation for Sustainability and Resilience: A Generational Cohort Perspective on Community Brand Identity Perceptions and Development Priorities in a Rural Community," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Wang, Bingzheng & Lu, Xiaofei & Zhang, Cancan & Wang, Hongsheng, 2022. "Cascade and hybrid processes for co-generating solar-based fuels and electricity via combining spectral splitting technology and membrane reactor," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 782-799.
    5. Alexander C. Abajian & Tamma Carleton & Kyle C. Meng & Olivier Deschênes, 2025. "Quantifying the global climate feedback from energy-based adaptation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Sapkota, Krishna & Gemechu, Eskinder & Oni, Abayomi Olufemi & Ma, Linwei & Kumar, Amit, 2022. "Greenhouse gas emissions from Canadian oil sands supply chains to China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    7. Tutar, Halit & Eren, Ömer & Er, Hasan & Gonulal, Erdal & Gokdogan, Osman, 2025. "Field-based experimental greenhouse gas emissions and energy use efficiency study of sorghum x sudan grass hybrid growth in a semi-arid region," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    8. Jeetendra P. Aryal, 2022. "Contribution of Agriculture to Climate Change and Low-Emission Agricultural Development in Asia and the Pacific," ADBI Working Papers 1340, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    9. Rong Li & Brent Sohngen & Xiaohui Tian, 2022. "Efficiency of forest carbon policies at intensive and extensive margins," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(4), pages 1243-1267, August.
    10. Amitrajeet A. Batabyal & Hamid Beladi, 2019. "Preference matching, income, and population distribution in urban and adjacent rural regions," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 98(5), pages 2201-2208, October.
    11. Alt, Marius & Gallier, Carlo & Kesternich, Martin & Sturm, Bodo, 2023. "Collective minimum contributions to counteract the ratchet effect in the voluntary provision of public goods," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    12. Heleen L. Soest & Lara Aleluia Reis & Luiz Bernardo Baptista & Christoph Bertram & Jacques Després & Laurent Drouet & Michel Elzen & Panagiotis Fragkos & Oliver Fricko & Shinichiro Fujimori & Neil Gra, 2022. "Author Correction: Global roll-out of comprehensive policy measures may aid in bridging emissions gap," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-1, December.
    13. Richard Yeaw Chong Seow, 2024. "Determinants of environmental, social, and governance disclosure: A systematic literature review," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 2314-2330, March.
    14. Sanzana Tabassum & Tanvin Rahman & Ashraf Ul Islam & Sumayya Rahman & Debopriya Roy Dipta & Shidhartho Roy & Naeem Mohammad & Nafiu Nawar & Eklas Hossain, 2021. "Solar Energy in the United States: Development, Challenges and Future Prospects," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-65, December.
    15. Lea Primožič & Andreja Kutnar, 2022. "Sustainability Communication in Global Consumer Brands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    16. Thananya Janhuaton & Vatanavongs Ratanavaraha & Sajjakaj Jomnonkwao, 2024. "Forecasting Thailand’s Transportation CO 2 Emissions: A Comparison among Artificial Intelligent Models," Forecasting, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-23, June.
    17. repec:ags:ijag24:344656 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Ajithakumari Vijayappan Nair Biju & Snehith Jacob Kodiyatt & P. P. Nithi Krishna & Geetha Sreelekshmi, 2023. "ESG sentiments and divergent ESG scores: suggesting a framework for ESG rating," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(12), pages 1-21, December.
    19. Ricardo Raineri, 2025. "Power Shift: Decarbonization and the New Dynamics of Energy Markets," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-52, February.
    20. Oana Țugulea, 2017. "City Brand Personality—Relations with Dimensions and Dimensions Inter-Relations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-22, December.
    21. Shizhao Zhang & Shuzhi Wang & Jiayong Zhang & Bao Wang & Hui Wang & Liwei Liu & Chong Cao & Muyang Shi & Yuhan Liu, 2025. "Research on the Application of Biochar in Carbon Sequestration: A Bibliometric Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-31, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:12:p:5568-:d:1681025. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.