What makes Guatemalan citizens green?

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ABSTRACT We draw on the literatures of environmental vulnerability and natural disasters to explain the determinants of different green citizen actions. We test several propositions using a national public opinion survey in Guatemala, a country that combines high vulnerability to climate change threats as well as low adaptive capacity to cope with these threats. Our results show that ‘climate bads’ – as in when natural disasters result in physical harms to households or the physical destruction of homes, including the temporary relocation of households because of damaged homes – are consistent drivers of green citizen actions. Government environmental protection and the presence of NGOs providing relief assistance also advance a favorable environment conducive to citizens being green. Our findings show that green citizen actions matter in climate vulnerable nations like Guatemala, notwithstanding the country’s low adaptive capacity to climate change.