Exploring the variances of climate change opinions in Germany at a fine-grained local scale

authored by

Lars Mewes, Leonie Tuitjer, Peter Dirksmeier

Abstract

How and why climate change opinions vary within countries at a small geographic scale is rarely investigated. Previous research has focused on public opinions at the individual or national level, leaving local differences within countries and their underlying factors largely unexplored. The lack of research at subnational levels is problematic, as adaptation and mitigation policies depend on collective support and action involving multiple stakeholders at the local scale. It is thus crucial to identify geographic differences in climate change opinions and to unravel their determinants at a fine-grained local scale. We examine public CCOs across 4,667 municipalities in Germany by relying on a representative survey of households. Here we show substantial and systematic differences in public climate change opinions across locations that manifest between urban vs. rural and prospering vs. declining areas. Besides these geographic features, more complex historical and cultural differences between places play an important role.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Economic and Human Geography

External Organisation(s)

University of Bremen

Type

Article

Journal

Nature Communications

Volume

15

No. of pages

14

ISSN

2041-1723

Publication date

29.02.2024

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Chemistry(all), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all), Physics and Astronomy(all)

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 13 - Climate Action

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45930-8 (Access: Open)