Abstract:
Individuals and governments often fail to take action to address climate change owing largely to widespread politicization of the issue and related discourse. In response to recent appeals for non-partisan approaches to pro-environmentalism, we propose that highlighting one\'s responsibility to future generations (RFG) could offer promise across the political spectrum. We argue that RFG may be effective because it is widely endorsed, uncorrelated with demographic indicators and less tied to political ideology compared to other forms of responsibility, such as personal responsibility for climate change mitigation. Across six main and seven supplementary studies (N = 161,633), we provide evidence for these claims. RFG is not only widely endorsed across countries and demographic groups but it also significantly predicts various measures of pro-environmental behaviour, both in correlational and pre-registered experimental contexts. These findings confirm established effects, reconcile inconsistencies and suggest prioritizing intergenerational responsibility may effectively reshape climate change narratives for the most resistant parties.
摘要:
个人和政府往往未能采取行动解决气候变化问题,这主要是由于该问题和相关言论的广泛政治化。为了回应最近呼吁无党派采取支持环保主义的方法,我们建议强调一个人对后代的责任(RFG)可以在整个政治领域提供承诺。我们认为RFG可能是有效的,因为它得到了广泛的认可,与人口指标无关,与其他形式的责任相比,与政治意识形态无关,比如对减缓气候变化的个人责任。在六项主要研究和七项补充研究中(N=161,633),我们为这些索赔提供证据。RFG不仅在各国和人口群体中得到广泛认可,而且还显着预测了各种有利于环境行为的措施,在相关和预先注册的实验环境中。这些发现证实了既定的影响,调和不一致,并建议优先考虑代际责任可能会有效地重塑最具抵抗力的政党的气候变化叙述。