BEYOND BELIEFS. FROM CLIMATE ATTITUDES TO CLIMATE ACTIONS

While scientific and policy experts have identified a wide range of interventions to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change, the translation of these recommendations into effective actions has been limited. Understanding public attitudes toward climate change is crucial to identify some of the barriers to climate action, the social groups more resistant to climate engagement and the strategies that can foster broader support for climate policies. Previous research has shown that despite widespread awareness and concern about climate change, individuals' willingness to contribute to mitigation efforts remains limited. This thesis aims to analyze the mechanisms that facilitate or hinder engagement with climate mitigation and to explore possible strategies to increase social support for climate actions. Especially, it examines (i) the weak relationship between environmental concern and environmental intentions (the climate attitudes-behavior gap), (ii) the economic and climate-related factors influencing individuals’ willingness to pay for environmental protection, (iii) the effect of recalling an extreme weather event in rising support for climate actions, and (iv) the different types of private-sphere environmental behaviors and their economic and political determinants. The results indicate that despite environmental concern is a key predictor of willingness to act for the environment, it is not sufficient alone to explain the engagement in climate action. It should be better integrated with other individual and contextual factors in order to understand the barriers to pro-environmental engagement. The first study reveals that economic conditions—both at the individual and national level—significantly influence not only individuals' willingness to pay for environmental protection, but also how strongly their environmental concerns translate into that willingness. Similarly, the environmental vulnerabilities of the country appear to moderate the impact of environmental concerns on environmental intention. The second study examines how the exposure to natural disasters can influence support for climate action, showing that recalling certain types of disasters can effectively increase individuals' willingness to accept costs to mitigate climate change. Lastly, the third study shifts the focus to private-sphere behaviors, emphasizing the relevance of distinguishing among various types of behaviors – occasional and habitual behaviors - to better understand the factors that influence their adoption. While economic condition influences all types of environmental behaviors similarly, political orientation affects habitual and occasional behaviors differently. In conclusion, the thesis contributes to understanding public opinion on the climate crisis that characterizes contemporary societies, by providing insights into the complexity of individual and contextual factors that shape climate engagement and by identifying potential strategies to enhance support for climate actions.