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Do Europeans Care about Climate Change? An Illustration of the Importance of Data on Human Feelings

Author

Listed:
  • Nowakowski, Adam

    (Bocconi University)

  • Oswald. Andrew J

    (University of Warwick, CAGE, and IZA)

Abstract

Economists have proposed a variety of sophisticated climate-change interventions. But do our citizens care enough about climate change to enact such policies? This paper provides evidence that suggests they do not. Two kinds of findings are presented. Using data on 40,000 Europeans from the 2016 European Social Survey, the paper shows that only 5% of people say they are extremely worried about climate change. The cooler European countries express particularly low levels of worry. Using data on 30,000 citizens from the 2019 Eurobarometer Surveys, the paper demonstrates that climate change is viewed as a less important problem than parochial issues such as (i) health and social security, (ii) inflation, (iii) unemployment, and (iv) the economic situation. Other results, from regression equations, are provided. This paper’s conclusions seem to have exceptionally serious implications for our unborn great grandchildren -- and imply that economic policy should now focus on how to alter feelings rather than upon the design of complicated theoretical interventions. An analogy with successful anti-tobacco policy is discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Nowakowski, Adam & Oswald. Andrew J, 2020. "Do Europeans Care about Climate Change? An Illustration of the Importance of Data on Human Feelings," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1303, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:wrk:warwec:1303
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    Cited by:

    1. Alistair Ulph & David Ulph, 2023. "International Cooperation and Kantian Moral Behaviour – Complements or Substitutes?," Economics Discussion Paper Series 2302, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    2. Pestel, Nico & Oswald, Andrew J., 2021. "Why Do Relatively Few Economists Work on Climate Change? A Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 14885, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Gadea Rivas, Marta Dolores & Gonzalo, Jesús, 2022. "Climate change heterogeneity: a new quantitative approach," UC3M Working papers. Economics 35442, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía.
    4. Johnston, David W. & Knott, Rachel & Mendolia, Silvia, 2022. "Climate Change Salience, Economic Insecurity, and Support for Mitigation Policies," IZA Discussion Papers 15562, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate change ; global warming ; feelings ; economic policy ; welfare JEL codes: Q54 ; Q58;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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