Do individuals’ perceptions of international climate policy affect their climate-friendly activities?

摘要

A substantial body of economic literature provides potential explanations for individuals’ voluntary contributions topublic goods, focusing on the roles of social norms and feelings of warm glow or responsibility. This paper providesadditional theoretical insights and empirical evidence on the effect of people’s perceptions of international climate policyon the provision of the public good climate protection. We distinguish between perceptions on aspects of perceived justification,procedural justice, and trust in international climate negotiations and agreements.Our empirical results on individuals’ stated future and past adoption of a wide range of climate-friendly activities in China,Germany, and the US suggest that the perceived justification of international climate policy motivates future climateprotection efforts. In a broader interpretation, the propensity to voluntarily contribute to the public good is higher themore efficient the public good providing process. We further find that citizens in Germany (but not in China or the US)tend to compensate a perceived lack of procedural trust by additional climate-friendly activities. In comparison, citizensin the US (but not in China or Germany) tend to compensate a perceived lack of procedural justice. Our findings arerobust to various model specifications.