Channeling Environmentalism into Climate Policy: An Experimental Study of Fridays for Future Participants from Germany

Environmental Research Letters https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac30f7

18 Pages Posted: 25 Oct 2021

See all articles by Ilkhom Soliev

Ilkhom Soliev

Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg

Marco A. Janssen

Arizona State University (ASU)

Insa Theesfeld

Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg

Calvin Pritchard

Arizona State University (ASU)

Frauke Pirscher

Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg

Allen Lee

Arizona State University (ASU)

Date Written: October 19, 2021

Abstract

This study argues that environmental activists need to be better understood to bridge the gap between growing activism and policy. Conventional wisdom is that environmental activists generally support stronger climate policies. But there is still little understanding about diversity of views within activist groups when it comes to specific policies. Activists might unite to demand change, but not necessarily agree on details of the desired change. Exploring the differences within the group, this paper focuses on how to nudge those who already share favorable attitudes towards policies that mitigate climate change. The motivation has been to see, in presence of general support for stronger environmental policies, whether this support could be channeled into more specific policies. We first take on a methodological challenge to construct an index of environmental predisposition. Then drawing from existing social-behavioral scholarship, we analyze results of an experimental survey with select treatments previously reported as promising. In November and December 2019, we collected responses from 119 participants at the Fridays for Future demonstrations in Germany. The results indicate that there are indeed important differences within the group, and nudging effects exist even in this rather strongly predisposed group, with participants assigned to the experimental group showing higher levels of support for the introduction of a carbon tax that is traditionally seen as a difficult policy to gain widespread public support. We find that those who score neither too high nor too low are more likely to respond to nudging. Yet, the effects vary for general outcomes such as policy support, behavioral intentions, and environmental citizenship. Overall, the findings show the value of understanding the heterogeneity of individual views within environmental movements better and directing interventions in large resource systems such as climate to specific issues and target groups for accelerating transformations towards sustainability.

Keywords: activism, nudging, framing, benefit sharing, climate action, behavior

JEL Classification: C9, F64, H23, Q54, Q58

Suggested Citation

Soliev, Ilkhom and Janssen, Marco A. and Theesfeld, Insa and Pritchard, Calvin and Pirscher, Frauke and Lee, Allen, Channeling Environmentalism into Climate Policy: An Experimental Study of Fridays for Future Participants from Germany (October 19, 2021). Environmental Research Letters https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac30f7, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3948268

Ilkhom Soliev (Contact Author)

Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg ( email )

Universitätsplatz 10
Halle (Saale), Saxony-Anhalt 06108
Germany

Marco A. Janssen

Arizona State University (ASU) ( email )

Farmer Building 440G PO Box 872011
Tempe, AZ 85287
United States

Insa Theesfeld

Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg

Emil-Abderhalden-Str. 7
Halle an der Saale
06099 Halle (Saale), DE Sachsen-Anhalt 06099
Germany

Calvin Pritchard

Arizona State University (ASU)

Farmer Building 440G PO Box 872011
Tempe, AZ 85287
United States

Frauke Pirscher

Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg

Emil-Abderhalden-Str. 7
Halle an der Saale
06099 Halle (Saale), DE Sachsen-Anhalt 06099
Germany

Allen Lee

Arizona State University (ASU)

Farmer Building 440G PO Box 872011
Tempe, AZ 85287
United States

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