Climate: Insight does not lead to better work

Anyone who considers global warming an urgent problem can also accept political action. But whether he’s changing his behavior in favor of the climate is another matter. This was the result of surveys of sociologists from Bern and St. Gallen.

In a large-scale survey, Lucas Wiesenfeld of the University of Bern and Adrian Renschead of the University of St. Gallen identified the following: People who view climate change as a pressing problem are also more inclined to take ambitious climate protection measures.

Urgency is high

However, the perceived urgency of climate change has no bearing on the approval of measures aimed at changing personal behavior – for example, eating less meat and leaving the car more often. The authors announced this Friday in the summary of their study.

It must be said in advance that the study that the two scientists recently published in the specialized journal “One Earth” is not based exactly on the Swiss conditions. Because nearly 10,000 voters were surveyed in the United States and Germany.

You have to pick up people

The survey shows that awareness of urgency goes hand in hand with greater support for overall climate goals. However, if changes in personal lifestyle are required, the effect of perceived urgency on consent diminishes.

However, the two political scientists concluded that there is room for politicians to maneuver and strong climate protection action could be pushed forward. “The study shows that respondents are more willing to support drastic measures if they understand their importance.”

Among other things, it is important for politicians to concretely explain to people why these measures are necessary to effectively stop climate change.