Can affluence explain public attitudes towards climate change mitigation policies? A multilevel analysis with data from 27 EU countries

Abstract

"This study examines the hypothesis that prosperity is an important determinant of public attitudes towards climate change mitigation. The analysis focuses on attitudes towards climate change mitigation policies in 27 EU countries using Eurobarometer data from June 2011. In the analysis, a random intercept multilevel model is used to test the relative strength of different individual level and country level effects. The results support the hypothesis that a higher level of prosperity leads to more concern about the environment. This study shows that individual affluence is an important determinant of the level of individual support for climate change mitigation policy. Furthermore, the results indicate that individual prosperity has a stronger effect than the overall level of wealth in society." (author's abstract)