All time references are in CEST
Current methodological challenges and applications in environmental and climate research |
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| Session Organisers | Professor Henning Best (University of Kaiserslautern-Landau) Dr Christiane Bozoyan (LMU Munich) Mrs Manuela Schmidt (University of Kaiserslautern-Landau) Dr Claudia Schmiedeberg (LMU Munich) |
| Time | Tuesday 18 July, 09:00 - 10:30 |
| Room | |
Climate change and the depletion of Earth’s natural resources are among the largest challenges humanity currently faces. Addressing them requires ambitious policies promoting technological innovation and influencing human behavior and interactions within socio-economic systems. However, there is a great need of large-scale behavioral data such as panel data and natural as well as survey experiments that enable causal analyses (Jenny & Betsch, 2022).
To advance research on the human dimension of climate change, we need a thorough understanding of public perceptions of climate policy and environmental behaviors, and how these relate to the individual and to structural constraints related to socio-economic positions. Methodological challenges include the measurement of environmental behavior and households’ carbon footprint, often skewed by self-reporting biases, social desirability, and lack of knowledge. Questions on public opinion and policy agreement are particularly susceptible to response bias due to climate skepticism and opposition to policies. At the same time, climate skepticism as well as protest behavior towards environmental policies may be hard to measure due to privacy concerns. Survey experiments are suited to measure evaluations of complex policies and vague or uncertain payoff structures.
Linking survey data with new data sources offers new perspectives for environmental research. For example, the addition of geospatial information or sensor data allows for the consideration of context effects, while administrative data can help to close data gaps and validate measurements. These approaches still pose methodological challenges in managing and analyzing linked data and questions of data protection, sensitivity, and privacy.
This session will showcase approaches to measuring environmental attitudes and behaviors and innovative designs using smartphones, sensor or other new data sources to enhance environmental survey data. We especially welcome studies that further develop methodological approaches and explore (interdisciplinary) substantive applications of survey methods in environmental research.
Keywords: environmental research, climate change, sustainability, data linkage, survey experiments
Dr Nils Teichler (University Bremen) - Presenting Author
Ms Clara Dilger (University Leipzig)
Studies show that the vast majority of the German public are concerned about climate change, but specific climate policies are often controversially debated. This study explores the interplay between climate awareness and concerns about the economic and social consequences of climate policies, examining its impact on social conflict and coalition dynamics related to Germany’s climate transition.
Using recent primary survey data from wave 2 (2022) of the German Social Cohesion Panel (SCP), a panel study by the Research Institute Social Cohesion (FGZ) in cooperation with the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we analyze these dynamics. The SCP offers comprehensive indicators on attitudes toward climate change and policies, alongside extensive survey instruments measuring political orientation and attitudes towards migration, inequality, and other social issues. From a large sample of over 7,500 individuals, we apply a Latent Class Analysis (LCA) on 14 different attitudes toward climate change and the climate transition. This approach allows us to uncover latent response patterns at the intersection of climate awareness and concerns about the socio-economic consequences of the climate transition.
Our analysis identifies five distinct climate attitude profiles within the German population. Notably, 8% of the population exhibits low climate awareness while expressing high concern about the socio-economic costs of the transition. Another segment, comprising 17%, is highly aware of climate change and strongly supports climate protection but is equally concerned about its socio-economic implications. A third group, making up 22%, demonstrates the highest climate awareness and policy support while remaining unconcerned about socio-economic consequences. We observe societal divisions between climate segments, shaped by differences in age, education, and income. Our analysis of voting intentions and political orientation indicates that the segments with the highest and lowest levels of climate awareness closely mirror the ideological divide between AfD and Green voters.
Ms Theresa Wieland (University of Konstanz) - Presenting Author
As climate change urgency intensifies, carbon taxation schemes are increasingly recognized as essential tools to reduce emissions. However, public support for such taxes often hinges on perceptions of fairness, particularly regarding their impact on different social and geographic groups. Policymakers frequently introduce compensation mechanisms to address these equity concerns, such as redistributing tax revenues to mitigate regional disparities. In Austria, a unique compensation system adjusts payouts based on citizens’ rurality and access to public infrastructure, offering an ideal case for studying the effectiveness of regional revenue recycling.
This study employs a multi-method approach to investigate public perceptions of fairness and support for carbon taxes. First, an analysis of Austrian longitudinal survey data will track regional variations in support for carbon taxation across different stages of policy implementation. Second, a survey experiment will explore how citizens’ awareness of Austria's regional revenue recycling mechanism influences their support for the tax. This experimental design provides a robust framework to address key research questions: Do citizens understand the regional payout differences? Does informing them about these differences affect their attitudes toward the tax? Are there notable disparities in responses between rural and urban residents?
By integrating longitudinal survey data with an experiment, this study highlights methodological innovations in measuring public opinion on climate policies. The survey experiment's design allows for testing the effects of information on policy attitudes, while the Austrian survey data offers a broader temporal perspective on regional opinion dynamics.
The results will offer insights for designing equitable climate policies and contribute to advancing survey research methodologies for studying public opinion on complex policy issues. The survey will be conducted in early 2025. All findings will be finalized and prepared for the conference in July.
Ms Louisa Köppen (German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies) - Presenting Author
Dr Kai Mühleck (German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies)
Higher education is expected to play a major role in climate change adaptation and mitigation by supporting the formation of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviour, and by providing skills and competencies in the field of climate change and environmental sustainability. To assess the extent to which this expectation is met, we need reliable instruments to measure climate change and environmental attitudes, skills and competencies as an outcome of higher education. Here, graduates form an interesting target group, as we consider their attitudes, skills and competencies (partly) as a result of their higher education. Further, they hold a meaningful position, transferring attitudes, skills and competencies acquired during their studies to society when acting outside of higher education. Therefore, this research aims at exploring ways to measure graduate’s climate change and environmental attitudes, skills and competencies as an outcome of higher education.
To address this, we draw on data from the EUROGRADUATE 2022 project, a large-scale European survey, covering monetary and non-monetary outcomes of higher education graduates in 17 European countries. As a first step, we analyse the EUROGRADUATE 2022 data to reflect on the instruments used in the latest data collection, covering the engagement of graduates with environmental sustainability through the curriculum, climate change beliefs and concerns, and environmental efficacy beliefs. The focus lays on elaborating methodological challenges, such as clarity and informational value of the instruments, and the identification of potential response biases. Based on these outcomes we take a step further into a review of additional/alternative instruments, to, particularly, measure climate change and environmental skills and competencies in the context of higher education and by means of a survey. We will discuss possible measurements and give an outlook on how this could be implemented and tested in EUROGRADUATE 2026, the upcoming round of the survey.
Mr Michael Friedrich (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau) - Presenting Author
Professor Henning Best (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau)
It is notable that, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence confirming the existence of climate change, a significant proportion of the population remains sceptical. Yet, there is a lack of carefully developed instruments that measure all dimensions of climate change denial: Trend, attribution, impact and response (see Rahmstorf (2004) and Capstick & Pidgeon (2014) for a discussion of the dimensionality). We build on scales developed by Whitmarsh (2011) and De Graaf et al. (2023) and integrate them into a tested scale. In a web survey of 532 participants from a non-probability online panel, we use Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis, to evaluate the dimensionality, scalability and reliability of the newly developed, integrated instrument for measuring climate change scepticism. We propose three scale versions: a 12-item long scale, an 8-item short scale, and a 4-item very short scale, all covering four dimensions. Using nationally representative, large-scale data from the German Longitudinal Environmental Study (GLEN), we evaluate the construct validity of the shortest scale, assess climate change scepticism prevalence, and analyze its distribution across socio-economic groups.
References
Capstick, S. B., & Pidgeon, N. F. (2014). What is climate change scepticism? Examination of the concept using a mixed methods study of the UK public. Global Environmental Change, 24, 389–401.
De Graaf, J. A., Stok, F. M., Wit, J. B. de, & Bal, M. (2023). The climate change skepticism questionnaire: Validation of a measure to assess doubts regarding climate change. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 89, 102068.
Rahmstorf, S., 2004. The Climate Sceptics. Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam. (accessed 20.12.24) In: https://www.pik-potsdam.de/~stefan/Publications/Other/rahmstorf_climate_sceptics_2004.pdf
Whitmarsh, L. (2011). Scepticism and uncertainty about climate change: Dimensions, determinants and change over time. Global Environmental Change, 21(2), 690–700.
Mr Matthias Penker (University of Graz) - Presenting Author
Professor Markus Hadler (University of Graz)
Dr Anja Eder (University of Graz)
Since the Rio Conference in 1992 and the adoption of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, public discourse on environmental issues, particularly climate change, has grown significantly. Repeatedly fielded questionnaire modules in programs such as the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) have concurrently gathered public opinion on these topics, over multiple waves, enabling researchers to link macro-level data—such as national CO2 emissions and temperature trends—with individual respondents' views and attitudes.
Leveraging specific specifications of three-level multilevel models, these Comparative Longitudinal Survey Datasets (CLSD) allow researchers to examine cross-sectional relationships between countries and longitudinal dynamics within countries. Additionally, they provide new opportunities to explore interactions across and within multiple societal levels. Despite the growing availability of CLSD, most international comparative studies continue to focus predominantly on (cross-level) interactions involving time-invariant country characteristics and individual-level predictors. Interactions that incorporate time-variant predictors remain underexplored, even though they offer significant potential for testing dynamic aspects of macro-level theories and models.
This presentation highlights the variety of interactions that can be analysed using three-level models applied to CLSD. Using empirical examples based on 30 years of data from 37 countries in the ISSP Environment Module and contextual data on environmental and political characteristics derived from sources such as New Climate Data Store (CDS), Quality of Government database, UNEP etc. we demonstrate the analytical potential of interactions involving time-variant predictors. Additionally, we discuss the methodological challenges associated with their implementation.
Professor Katya Ivanova (University of Tilburg)
Professor Tobias Rüttenauer (University College London) - Presenting Author
The question of whether individuals consider climate change in their reproductive decisions has emerged as an important area of inquiry. Research in this field generally follows two paths: examining the impact of extreme weather events on fertility planning and exploring the relationship between climate change concerns and (often concurrently stated) fertility intentions. This study advances on existing research by analysing individual-level panel data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), which tracks approximately 50,000 individuals from 2009 to 2020. We measure environmentalism using a composite index of pro-environmental behaviour from the first wave of the survey. First, we test the correlation between environmentalism and fertility intentions. Next, we analyse how fertility behaviours over time differ between individuals with high and low environmental concerns. All analyses are conducted separately for men and women, and for parents and non-parents as observed at the study's outset. Our findings indicate that environmentalism correlates with lower fertility intentions, a relationship that is reflected in observed fertility behaviours. The fertility gap is particularly pronounced for women between ages 25 and 35. Moreover, the patterns suggests a tendency toward fertility postponement rather than an overall reduction in fertility, as the gap narrows again by age 40.
Dr Marina Maglić (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences) - Presenting Author
Dr Tomislav Pavlović (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences)
Ms Marija Neralić (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences)
Climate change is one of the most important global challenges of our time. While many people express positive attitudes toward environmental protection and climate change mitigation, the relationship between attitudes and actions is not always straightforward. Notably, efforts to prevent climate change negative consequences vary, even across regions similarly affected by environmental disasters. This study examines climate- and science-related attitudes and environmental behaviours of Croatian citizens, utilising data from two waves of the European Social Survey (ESS, waves 10 and 11), Google Trends search data, and data from national reports on waste management. Specifically, the analysis, conducted at the Croatian county level, explores how attitudes towards climate change and scientists relate to actual behaviours, such as online interest in climate-related topics and waste recycling rates. Key findings reveal significant regional variability in attitudes and behaviours. Counties with higher trust in scientists demonstrated higher recycling rates, while searches of climate change topics on Google were more frequent in counties where citizens were less likely to believe that scientists manipulate data to deceive the public. These findings confirm the relationship between endorsement of conspiracies and environmental behaviours but also imply the relevance of media in providing the right information.
Mr Lewis Payne (European Social Survey HQ (City St George's, University of London)) - Presenting Author
Given the substantial energy consumption of residential households and their resulting carbon footprint, the housing sector is pivotal in addressing climate change and reducing carbon emissions. In particular, regulatory measures around the energy efficiency of newly built homes and the retrofitting of existing homes are key to the reduction of carbon emissions in domestic housing. As such, this study utilises data from the British Social Attitudes Survey (2021) to examine public perceptions of energy-efficiency in new housing, as well as behavioural intentions regarding energy efficiency improvements to existing homes.
Key variables of interest include willingness to pay for energy-efficient homes, support for national retrofitting regulations, and preferences for incentives that promote more energy efficient homes, which are assessed in relation to key socio-demographic variables with a particular attention to housing tenure type. This includes, for example, an accounting for the differences in views between existing homeowners and prospective homeowners (renters who would prefer to own their own home) in accepting extra up-front costs for housing which is more energy efficient. This research will more widely highlight the policy challenges and areas of opportunity for reducing emissions in housing based on the findings from this analysis.
To provide a more nuanced account of the findings, the study addresses the limitations of using self-reported behavioural intentions from survey data alone given the potential influence of social desirability bias. Such limitations could limit real-world application of these results for policymakers, who have strong political considerations when enacting climate related policy. The possibilities for integrating survey data on climate attitudes and behaviours with extraneous datasets and geospatial information will therefore be highlighted to provide a roadmap for future research, allowing for a more rigorous accounting of climate related behaviours and views in national populations.
Dr Joanna Syrda (University of Bath) - Presenting Author
Urgently needed policy attempts at reducing emissions are often met with divided support, arguably along political lines. While an effective way forward requires shared attitudes and cooperation, a political polarization around it has been observed in many countries, including the UK.
Using a representative sample of British citizens (N= 2,515), this research is the first to examine if and to what degree welfarism, political orientation, and party preference contribute to support for transport infrastructure policy directions: (a) New cycle lanes in roads, (b) Local council spending more money to improve existing public transport, although this may mean spending less on other council services, (c) Reserving parking spaces for electric car charging points, (d) Building carparks to introduce more park and ride routes, (e) Narrowing roads to widen pavements, and (f) Closing roads to create pedestrian high streets.
I find that left-right political orientation is indeed associated with support for transport initiatives, but it is not the key attitudinal predictor. While left-leaning individuals are more likely to support the listed transport initiatives, this research is the first to find that it is the welfarist orientation that has highest relative importance in half of the cases, or second highest after political party preference in the other half. This highly significant positive relationship between support for welfare state and the analyzed transport initiatives is positively moderated by interest in politics and closeness to a political party.
Dr Diana Zavala-Rojas (European Social Survey-Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
Mr Agustin Blanco Bosco (European Social Survey-Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain) - Presenting Author
Considering the growing concern about climate change and the impact it will have on the lives of citizens, it is more necessary than ever to study their attitudes towards the environment and policies to fight it, especially in more polluted places such as big cities. The Pilot Application in Urban Landscapes (PAUL) project works toward the European Green Deal by collecting data measuring greenhouse gas emissions from densely populated urban areas across Europe. In this project, ESS ERIC introduced the social dimension into pollution measurement by conducting a three-wave panel survey in Paris and Munich (2023-2025). The survey explored citizens’ attitudes towards public policies to mitigate climate change, urban air quality, energy use and transport, recycling among other topics. The presentation will cover the design of the survey, preliminary results, and the methodological challenges of linking survey data with environmental data.
Dr Ariane Bertogg (University of Konstanz) - Presenting Author
Professor Martina Brandt (TU Dortmund)
Socio-environmental crises, induced by climate change or the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly impact individual health especially at older ages. While the cardiovascular risks (e.g., heat strokes) posed by climate change and the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 lockdowns have been widely studied, their differential impacts on cognitive functioning in later life remains less understood. Ample studies document the impact that the social environment at the meso- (social relations, stress, and stimulation at the workplace) and macro-levels (preventive health care, opportunities for learning and exercising, environmental toxins) is related to the speed and scope of cognitive decline. Yet, these mechanisms have not been addressed in the context of socio-environmental crises.
Our study explores the "cognitive impact" of socio-environmental crises by addressing four: questions: (1) How can we measure the impact of socio-environmental crises? (2) How are summer temperatures linked to cognitive change over a two-year period? (3) Did cognitive decline accelerate between the pre-pandemic to the post-lockdown phase compared to baseline cognitive changes? (4) Are these cognitive impacts different across social groups?
Using longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we analyze changes in memory and verbal fluency among adults aged 50+ in Germany using Random effects change score analysis. Results show that COVID-19-related memory decline is significantly greater than baseline decline rates occurring over a time period of similar length. Higher average summer temperatures are associated with faster decline in memory and verbal fluency, while higher peak summer temperatures correlate with improved verbal fluency over two years. No differences in the impact of these two crises were found across genders, educational and income groups, or urban-rural residency. However, the oldest individuals were more vulnerable to these crises’ cognitive impacts.
Dr Sinan Erensü (Bogazici University)
Ms Daniela Kızıldağ (Bogazici University) - Presenting Author
Ms Sena Akkoç (Bogazici University)
The existing literature on climate change skepticism, predominantly informed by scholarship on data from advanced economies, often links skepticism and denialism to ideological polarization and entrenched political machinery opposing climate action. In Turkey, however, while political polarization exists, climate change skepticism has not yet been entirely subsumed within this divide, nor is there an established anti-climate change mobilization. Public belief in human-driven climate change is notably high, yet knowledge or support for climate policy lags significantly behind, making researchers question alternative approaches to explain this paradox. Drawing on a nationally representative survey (N=1500) from the 2024 Turkish Social Values Study (TSVS), conducted using the CAPI method, this paper examines how structural and political factors shape climate skepticism in Turkey.
We test whether perceptions of climate policy as a trade-off with state developmentalism and New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale parameters (Dunlap, 2008), such as anti-anthropocentrism, rejection of exemptionalism, and belief in nature’s balance can predict climate denial and skepticism. Sociodemographic factors, political values, and concern levels for climate change are controlled. We argue that paying attention to the role of developmental concerns and overall environmental sensitivity can help develop interventions to address climate skepticism and denialism. In a developmentalist context, such as Turkey, citizens may absolve the state of responsibility for addressing climate change, influenced by anti-globalist rhetoric, general cynicism towards environmental progress, or prioritization of economic growth instead. By proposing novel predictors for skepticism, our research contributes to the creation of measurement tools for climate change attitudes while assisting stakeholders and researchers in better understanding public opinion on climate change.