Climate Concern and Pro-Environmental Actorness in the Light of Trust

Abstract

Climate change is one of the most important economic and social issues today. When exploring individual motivations, researchers investigate a multitude of factors, including the role of trust. On the basis of the empirical results obtained to date, the literature does not paint a uniform picture regarding the strength of the relationship between trust and environmental awareness. Using a large-scale, representative survey containing variables we developed ourselves, the present study wishes to provide an answer to the question of how much the trust of the individual motivates the given individual to take pro-climate action. The results of the study show that the large majority of the respondents cannot be viewed as pro-climate actors even though they are concerned about climate change at the same time. The majority of them are mistrustful of their fellow human beings; in other words, they think that protecting the climate and taking action against climate change is not particularly important for others. One of the most important conclusions of the paper that may be drawn from the models set up during the analyses is that trust correlates with both pro-environment/pro-climate action and the intent to act, so it can be said that trust facilitates climate change awareness and behaviour, while mistrust hinders it.