Concerning values: what underlies public polarisation about climate change?

Abstract

Climate change is a partisan issue, with increasingly politically polarised responses, particularly in Anglophone countries. While politics clearly have a role in determining attitudes to climate science and policy, understanding the human values that underlie attitudes offers advantages over a focus on political differences. This study examines public concern about climate change in Hobart, the state capital of Tasmania, Australia. Hobart is a microcosm of polarisation about environmental issues due to its long history of conflict over natural resource use. Using a survey of 522 citizens of Hobart, the research examines the values underlying concern and unconcern about climate change. Applying an innovative analysis of human values to this area of research, I have found that, in the Tasmanian context, the unconcerned may be categorised into two groups with opposing values: people who prioritise national security, social order, and tradition; and people who value freedom of choice and the ability to make their own decisions. High levels of climate change concern are associated strongly with care for nature, suggesting that climate change is seen primarily as a threat to the environment, rather than to humanity. In this article, I argue that understanding the values underlying divergent interpretations of the threat of climate change is essential to resolving deadlock in political discourse. The work draws lessons for re‐engaging the unconcerned in inclusive conversations about climate change through narratives addressing a broader range of values.

Privatizing climate adaptation: How insurance weakens solidaristic and collective disaster recovery

“…Localized effects of climate change are complex, and adaptation action is often the subject of political disagreement, so reliance on private interests may not lead to fair or legitimate outcomes (Adger, Barnett, Brown, Marshall, & O'Brien, 2012). Risk‐reflective pricing is limited in its effectiveness as an incentive to adapt because social values, rather than economic values, are more likely to affect people's willingness to act on climate change (Evans et al, 2012; Lucas, 2018). Without reference to social values and context, technocratic forms of risk measurement and calculation make trade‐offs based on limited information.…”

The effect of social roles, religiosity, and values on climate change concern: An empirical analysis for Turkey

“…Several other papers have also found that women show more environmental or climate change concern (Aasen, ; Blocker & Eckberg, ; Gifford & Nilsson, ; Hamilton, ; McCright, Dunlap, & Marquart‐Pyatt, ; Melgar, Mussio, & Rossi, ; Olofsson & Öhman, ; Torgler, Garcia‐Valiñas, & Macintyre, ), others have found no impact of gender (Bodur & Sarigöllü, ; Gelissen, ; Lucas, ; Mostafa, ), but Abdul‐Wahab and Abdo () found that women show lower environmental concern than men in Oman. Moreover, Knight (), focusing on the gender difference in CCC among different countries, found that women show more concern than men in wealthier countries, but the reverse is observed in poorer countries.…”

“…Alternatively, more education can be associated with higher income that consequently allows individuals to pay more attention to the environment and less to personal economic issues (Gelissen, ). Interestingly, Lucas () finds no effect of education on CCC, and Mostafa () finds that education has a negative effect on pro‐environmental intentions.…”

“…Regarding age, some papers find a positive relationship between age and environmental concern (Abdul‐Wahab & Abdo, ; Melgar et al, ), several find that being older implies lower concern about the environment (Carmichael & Brulle, ; Gelissen, ; Gifford & Nilsson, ; Hamilton, ; Lucas, ; McCright, ; McCright et al, ; Torgler et al, ), and even some papers find no effect of age (Bodur & Sarigöllü, ). Kvaløy et al () find a nonlinear relationship: Respondents aged between 30 and 60 years show more concern for global warming than younger and older respondents.…”

Environmental Hazards: A Coverage Response Approach

“…The promise and delivery of improved quality of life with social participation [9], and the role of Smart Systems in creating more efficient, effective [10], and more sustainability and leisure or health-oriented societies [11][12][13] is evident. The use and/or distribution of resources (e.g., water), whether politically motivated or otherwise [14,15] as related to policy, are also laudable. Further, the combination of real-time in situ observational platforms [16] that include immediate dissemination offer the public access to view and monitor events or situations of interest continuously.…”