Abstract
The magnitude of climate change threats to life on the planet is not matched by the level of current mitigation strategies. To contribute to our understanding of inaction in the face of climate change, the reported study draws upon the pro status quo motivations encapsulated within System Justification Theory. In an online questionnaire study, participants (N = 136) initially completed a measure of General System Justification. Participants in a “System-critical” condition were then exposed to information linking environmental problems to the current economic system; participants in a Control condition were exposed to information unrelated to either environmental problems or the economic system. A measure of Economic System Justification was subsequently administered. Regressions of Economic System Justification revealed interactions between General System Justification and Information Type: higher general system justifiers in the System-critical condition rated the economic system as less fair than did their counterparts in the Control condition. However, they also indicated inequality as more natural than did their counterparts in the Control condition. The groups did not differ in terms of beliefs about the economic system being open to change. The results are discussed in terms of how reassurance about the maintenance of the status quo may be bolstered by recourse to beliefs in a natural order.
Highlights
Climate change is considered one of the greatest threats to life on the planet
Participants in a ‘‘System-critical’’ condition were exposed to information linking environmental problems to the current economic system; participants in a Control condition were exposed to information unrelated to either environmental problems or the economic system
There was a significant interaction between Information Type and General System Justification, b = -.22, t = -2.47, p = .015 (Fig. 1)
Summary
Most climate scientists agree that average global temperatures are increasing due to anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions (IPCC, 2013) and are of the view that people face significant further climate change in future (Meehl et al, 2005) It seems that the planet per se will survive but the planet that provides our habitat is under severe threat. Klein (2014) and Merchant (2005), among others, discuss how social injustice and environmental destruction are inherent in industrial production under capitalism It has been suggested, that the people who are already most disadvantaged by capitalism are the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, while they contribute the least to emissions (Klein, 2014; Norgaard, 2011)
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