
People and Planet: Values, Motivations and Formative Influences of Individuals Acting to Mitigate Climate Change
This paper presents results from a survey of 344 individuals who engage in climate change mitigation action, contributing to debates about whether it is necessary to promote 'nature experiences' and biospheric values to encourage pro-environmental behaviour. We investigate three factors
- values, motivations and formative experiences - that underlie such behaviour, but that usually have been considered in isolation from each other. In contrast to previous studies of environmentalists' significant life experiences, outdoor/nature experiences were not frequently mentioned as
being influential. Altruistic concerns about climate change impacts on future human generations and on poorer or more vulnerable people were considered more motivating than other reasons for action. There was no significant difference in how respondents rated altruistic and biospheric values.
Variations in responses from those involved in 'biospherically-oriented' organisations (such as traditional environmental or conservation organisations) versus those involved in climate change groups suggest that there are different routes into climate change mitigation action, and our results
show that it is not essential to cultivate biospheric values or the love of nature to encourage such action.
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Keywords: Climate change mitigation; formative influences; motivations; pro-environmental behaviour; values
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: April 1, 2017
- Environmental Values is an international peer-reviewed journal that brings together contributions from philosophy, economics, politics, sociology, geography, anthropology, ecology and other disciplines, which relate to the present and future environment of human beings and other species. In doing so we aim to clarify the relationship between practical policy issues and more fundamental underlying principles or assumptions.
Environmental Values has a Journal Impact Factor (2019) of 2.158. 5 Year Impact Factor: 2.047. - Editorial Board
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