IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v12y2025i1d10.1057_s41599-025-04712-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Increasing individual-level climate mitigation action: the role of behavioral dimensions and inequality perceptions

Author

Listed:
  • Theresa Wieland

    (Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality”
    Department of Sociology)

  • Fabian Thiel

    (Department of Sociology)

Abstract

As behavioral change is an important part of climate change mitigation efforts, scholars have increasingly advocated for a targeted focus on behaviors with high emission reduction potential. This study follows up on this imperative by conducting a factorial survey experiment, analyzing the willingness to adapt climate-friendly behavior in lifestyle dimensions with high emission reduction potential in a representative sample of the adult population of Germany. Moreover, we are employing novel approaches to motivate behavioral change through the lens of perceived inequality in climate change, priming our respondents about economic, generational, or global inequality. Our results identify lifestyle dimensions where behavioral resistance is most pronounced, particularly in meat consumption and car use, and show which dimensions have higher potential for adaptation (e.g. reducing air travel). Our priming experiment reveals that the potential for motivating climate-friendly behavior differs between the three primes. However, while addressing inequality in climate change did dampen the opposition to behavioral change, it alone was insufficient to motivate people in most lifestyle dimensions, emphasizing the need for additional structural transformations in society. Our study sheds light on the complexity of motivating climate-friendly behavior by allowing to distinguish between different lifestyle dimensions with high emission reduction potential and offers new starting points for framing the necessity of behavioral change.

Suggested Citation

  • Theresa Wieland & Fabian Thiel, 2025. "Increasing individual-level climate mitigation action: the role of behavioral dimensions and inequality perceptions," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04712-3
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-04712-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-04712-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-025-04712-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas Bernauer & Liam F. McGrath, 2016. "Simple reframing unlikely to boost public support for climate policy," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(7), pages 680-683, July.
    2. Jing Shi & Vivianne H. M. Visschers & Michael Siegrist & Joseph Arvai, 2016. "Knowledge as a driver of public perceptions about climate change reassessed," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(8), pages 759-762, August.
    3. Huang, Huiping, 2016. "Media use, environmental beliefs, self-efficacy, and pro-environmental behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 2206-2212.
    4. Catherine Graves & Katy Roelich, 2021. "Psychological Barriers to Pro-Environmental Behaviour Change: A Review of Meat Consumption Behaviours," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-18, October.
    5. Klar, Samara & Leeper, Thomas & Robison, Joshua, 2020. "Studying Identities with Experiments: Weighing the Risk of Posttreatment Bias Against Priming Effects," Journal of Experimental Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(1), pages 56-60, April.
    6. Schaffer, Lena Maria & Oehl, Bianca & Bernauer, Thomas, 2022. "Are policymakers responsive to public demand in climate politics?," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(1), pages 136-164, March.
    7. Kathryn L. Doherty & Thomas N. Webler, 2016. "Social norms and efficacy beliefs drive the Alarmed segment’s public-sphere climate actions," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(9), pages 879-884, September.
    8. Klar, Samara & Leeper, Thomas & Robison, Joshua, 2020. "Studying Identities with Experiments: Weighing the Risk of Posttreatment Bias Against Priming Effects – Corrigendum," Journal of Experimental Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(1), pages 71-71, April.
    9. Gadenne, David & Sharma, Bishnu & Kerr, Don & Smith, Tim, 2011. "The influence of consumers' environmental beliefs and attitudes on energy saving behaviours," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7684-7694.
    10. Mirjam A. Jenny & Cornelia Betsch, 2022. "Large-scale behavioural data are key to climate policy," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(11), pages 1444-1447, November.
    11. Robert Gampfer, 2014. "Do individuals care about fairness in burden sharing for climate change mitigation? Evidence from a lab experiment," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 65-77, May.
    12. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/61ih2qtadc8g1894enmudd2f09 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Magnus Bergquist & Andreas Nilsson & Niklas Harring & Sverker C. Jagers, 2022. "Meta-analyses of fifteen determinants of public opinion about climate change taxes and laws," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 12(3), pages 235-240, March.
    14. Tjernström, E. & Tietenberg, T., 2008. "Do differences in attitudes explain differences in national climate change policies?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 315-324, April.
    15. Stephane Hallegatte & Julie Rozenberg, 2017. "Climate change through a poverty lens," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 7(4), pages 250-256, April.
    16. Alexander Maki & Amanda R. Carrico & Kaitlin T. Raimi & Heather Barnes Truelove & Brandon Araujo & Kam Leung Yeung, 2019. "Meta-analysis of pro-environmental behaviour spillover," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(4), pages 307-315, April.
    17. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/61ih2qtadc8g1894enmudd2f09 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Matthew J. Hornsey & Emily A. Harris & Paul G. Bain & Kelly S. Fielding, 2016. "Meta-analyses of the determinants and outcomes of belief in climate change," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(6), pages 622-626, June.
    19. Nicolas Taconet & Aurélie Méjean & Céline Guivarch, 2020. "Influence of climate change impacts and mitigation costs on inequality between countries," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 15-34, May.
    20. repec:sae:envval:v:15:y:2006:i:3:p:397-413 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Anne M. Valkengoed & Wokje Abrahamse & Linda Steg, 2022. "To select effective interventions for pro-environmental behaviour change, we need to consider determinants of behaviour," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(11), pages 1482-1492, November.
    22. Rouven Doran & Gisela Böhm & Hans-Rüdiger Pfister & Katharine Steentjes & Nick Pidgeon, 2019. "Consequence evaluations and moral concerns about climate change: insights from nationally representative surveys across four European countries," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(5), pages 610-626, May.
    23. Christina Gravert & Ganga Shreedhar, 2022. "Effective carbon taxes need green nudges," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 12(12), pages 1073-1074, December.
    24. Plehwe, Dieter, 2022. "Reluctant transformers or reconsidering opposition to climate change mitigation? German think tanks between environmentalism and neoliberalism," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Latest Ar, pages 1-1.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Emőke Kiss & Dániel Balla & András Donát Kovács, 2022. "Characteristics of Climate Concern—Attitudes and Personal Actions—A Case Study of Hungarian Settlements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-22, April.
    2. Goerg, Sebastian & Pondorfer, Andreas & Stöhr, Valentina, 2025. "Public support for more ambitious climate policies: Empirical evidence from Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    3. Adrian Brügger & Moritz Gubler & Katharine Steentjes & Stuart B. Capstick, 2020. "Social Identity and Risk Perception Explain Participation in the Swiss Youth Climate Strikes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Matias Spektor & Guilherme N. Fasolin & Juliana Camargo, 2023. "Climate change beliefs and their correlates in Latin America," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Kruse, Tobias & Atkinson, Giles, 2022. "Understanding public support for international climate adaptation payments: Evidence from a choice experiment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    6. Fanghella, Valeria & Ibanez, Lisette & Thøgersen, John, 2025. "What you don't know, can't hurt you: Avoiding donation requests for environmental causes," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    7. Matthias Mader & Moritz Neubert & Felix Münchow & Stephanie C Hofmann & Harald Schoen & Konstantin Gavras, 2024. "Crumbling in the face of cost? How cost considerations affect public support for European security and defence cooperation," European Union Politics, , vol. 25(3), pages 483-503, September.
    8. Phu Nguyen-Van & Anne Stenger & Tuyen Tiet, 2021. "Social incentive factors in interventions promoting sustainable behaviors: A meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(12), pages 1-27, December.
    9. Valeria Fanghella & Lisette Ibanez & John Thøgersen, 2025. "What you don't know, can't hurt you: Avoiding donation requests for environmental causes," Post-Print hal-04982503, HAL.
    10. Parrish Bergquist & Christopher Warshaw, 2023. "How climate policy commitments influence energy systems and the economies of US states," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    11. Osberg, Gustav & Schulz, Felix & Bretter, Christian, 2024. "Navigating sustainable futures: The role of terminal and instrumental values," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    12. Chad M. Baum & Christian Gross, 2017. "Sustainability policy as if people mattered: developing a framework for environmentally significant behavioral change," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 53-95, April.
    13. Filippo Corsini & Natalia Marzia Gusmerotti & Edoardo Bartoletti & Francesco Testa & Andrea Appolloni & Fabio Iraldo, 2024. "Addressing Plastic Concern: Behavioral Insights into Recycled Plastic Products and Packaging in a Circular Economy," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 1961-1981, September.
    14. Odou, Philippe & Schill, Marie, 2020. "How anticipated emotions shape behavioral intentions to fight climate change," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 243-253.
    15. Rosalind Pidcock & Kate Heath & Lydia Messling & Susie Wang & Anna Pirani & Sarah Connors & Adam Corner & Christopher Shaw & Melissa Gomis, 2021. "Evaluating effective public engagement: local stories from a global network of IPCC scientists," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 168(3), pages 1-22, October.
    16. Erik O. Sterner & Tom Adawi & U. Martin Persson & Ulrika Lundqvist, 2019. "Knowing how and knowing when: unpacking public understanding of atmospheric CO2 accumulation," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 154(1), pages 49-67, May.
    17. D. Liliana González-Hernández & Raúl A. Aguirre-Gamboa & Erik W. Meijles, 2023. "The role of climate change perceptions and sociodemographics on reported mitigation efforts and performance among households in northeastern Mexico," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 1853-1875, February.
    18. Jing Wu & Shen Wang & Yuling Liu & Xuesong Xie & Siyi Wang & Lianhong Lv & Hong Luo, 2023. "Measurement of Tourism-Related CO 2 Emission and the Factors Influencing Low-Carbon Behavior of Tourists: Evidence from Protected Areas in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-19, January.
    19. Johansson, Alva & Berggren, Niclas & Nilsson, Therese, 2022. "Intolerance predicts climate skepticism," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    20. Louise Eriksson & John Armbrecht & Erik Lundberg, 2025. "Events and environmental sustainability: investigating the impact of environmental messaging and spillover mechanisms at a major sporting event in Sweden," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 1-12, September.

    More about this item

    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:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04712-3. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.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.