Climate Change Concern Research Articles

Climate change worries and fertility intentions: Insights from three EU countries

AbstractObjectiveThis study investigates the relationship between climate change concern and fertility intentions in Finland, Estonia, and Sweden. It explores whether climate worries are associated with a greater inclination to remain childfree or a reduction in the number of intended children, and whether the association varies across the three countries.BackgroundClimate change concern is said to influence fertility intentions either by prompting individuals to reduce their intended fertility to alleviate pressure on the planet or by instilling a sense of guilt and concern about bringing a child into a perceived doomed world. However, scientific evidence on this association is still limited and inconsistent.MethodThe analysis draws on nationally representative data from the 2021/22 Gender and Generation Survey, focusing on individuals aged 18–40. It examines certainty in future fertility intentions and the intended number of children through ordinal and multinomial logistic regressions, distinguishing between first‐birth and higher‐order birth intentions. Interactions between climate change concern and country are explored to assess potential cross‐country differences.ResultsThe results provide evidence that strong concern for climate change is linked to reduced fertility intentions, driven by childless individuals' intentions to forgo childbearing altogether rather than reducing the number of intended children. This pattern holds across all three countries, with a more pronounced association in Finland and Estonia, and somewhat weaker in Sweden.ConclusionThis study highlights, for the first time in the European context and on a representative sample, that climate change concern is negatively associated with fertility intentions.

Attitudes of European Citizens Towards Climate Change: A Gender Analysis

The present paper analyses attitudes and perceptions regarding climate change (CC) among European citizens, emphasizing their pivotal role in fostering public engagement and endorsement towards the advancement of mitigatory measures and sustainable lifestyles in accordance with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. This study delves into the degree of concern among European citizens regarding CC and their inclination towards assuming personal accountability in its alleviation, scrutinizing these facets through the lens of gender attitudes. Utilizing data from the European Social Survey and information on attitudes and perceptions pertaining to CC, the analysis incorporates various variables encompassing socio-economic status, demographics, individual perceptions of societal dynamics, and governmental policies. Employing econometric methodologies, the results confirm that individuals exhibiting trust in scientific authority manifest heightened concerns towards CC. Moreover, those expressing contentment with national governance display augmented levels of concern regarding CC. Gender differentials are also discernible, with females exhibiting greater apprehension towards CC compared to males. Furthermore, advanced age and higher educational attainment correlate with heightened levels of CC concern. Additional findings indicate that females tend to exhibit greater proclivity towards assuming self-responsibility, while individuals harbouring trust in scientific authority evince heightened levels of personal accountability, particularly when content with economic stability and the efficacy of the country's healthcare system. Additionally, older individuals displaying trust in scientific expertise tend to exhibit greater proclivity towards assuming personal responsibility. The findings underscore the imperative of comprehending the gendered ramifications of climate change and advocating for collective endeavours to combat this pervasive global challenge.

Effect of Global Climate Change Concern on Environmental Sensitivity of Nursing Students.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of global climate change concern on environmental sensitivity in nursing students. This study was descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational. The study was conducted with undergraduate nursing students (n=350). Descriptive Information Form, Climate Change Worry Scale, and Environmental Sensitivity Scale were used as data collection tools in the study. The relationship between global climate change concern and environmental sensitivity of nursing students was evaluated by Pearson correlation analysis, and the effect of climate change concern on environmental sensitivity of nursing students was evaluated by simple regression analysis. It was determined that there was a positive and moderately significant relationship between the mean total scores of the Climate Change Concern Scale and the mean total scores of the Environmental Sensitivity Scale (r=0.388, p<0.001). As a result of this study, it was found that as nursing students' concern about global climate change increased, their sensitivity toward the environment also increased.

Social workers’ perceptions and attitudes of environmental issues and sustainable development as social work practice in Aotearoa New Zealand

INTRODUCTION: Environmental and sustainable social work is gaining momentum in social work due to the rising concern of climate change and environmental degradation. Despite the social work profession being committed to social justice, the perspectives of social workers practising in Aotearoa New Zealand on environmental/green social work are yet to be explored. This study explored social workers’ attitudes and beliefs on environmental justice and sustainable practice. It also examined what factors support them to consider environmental issues in social work practice. METHODS: A survey using an online portal was conducted with qualified social workers to assess their attitudes and knowledge. Descriptive, correlation and regression analyses were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: A total of 102 questionnaires were analysed. The results indicated moderate levels of pro-ecological perspectives and awareness of sustainability attitudes, high level of agreement including Māori and other indigenous tradition and wisdom in ecological justice, strong belief in climate change and the importance of factoring environmental issues in social work practice. While over 80% of the participants thought that environmental issues should be part of social work practice, there are still gaps in translating these into practice. Participants would like to see more environmental issues being integrated into social work education to better prepare graduates entering the profession. CONCLUSIONS: Social work education is urged to incorporate the natural environment, environmental justice and values and skills across the curriculum to advance the social justice mission to reduce the disparity among those who are vulnerable and marginalised.

Meat alternative adoption: How climate change concern drives perceived sustainability, naturalness, and taste

Conventional livestock production generates high amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, significantly contributing to man-made climate change. Switching to meat alternatives has the potential to curb meat consumption but faces obstacles rooted in consumers’ concerns about unnaturalness, negative health implications, and excessive processing. Drawing on environmental psychology, heuristic processing, consistency theory, and the halo effect, this study develops a conceptual framework on how consumer’s climate concern, by activating climate commitment, not only directly motivates the adoption of meat alternatives, but also triggers perceptual processes, that have a favorable effect on the perception of the attributes of meat alternative products. The theoretical model was tested with an online survey of a US representative sample (N=800). Results show that climate concern positively affects meat alternative adoption by activating climate commitment. Climate commitment, in turn, through the drive for internal consistency and the halo effect, enhances the perceived sustainability, naturalness, and taste of meat alternatives, boosting their acceptance. Findings contribute to the literature by introducing a novel mechanism involving mental shortcuts based on consistency theory and the halo effect, which suggests that consumers align food product perceptions with their environmental goals. These insights offer valuable guidance for policymakers and marketers to design effective interventions promoting more sustainable dietary choices.

Ratiometric Fluorescent pH Sensing with Carbon Dots: Fluorescence Mapping across pH Levels for Potential Underwater Applications.

Ocean acidification has become a major climate change concern requiring continuous observation. Additionally, in the industry, pH surveillance is of great importance. Consequently, there is a pressing demand to develop robust and inexpensive pH sensors. Ratiometric fluorescence pH sensing stands out as a promising concept. The application of carbon dots in fluorescent sensing presents a compelling avenue for the advancement of pH-sensing solutions. This potential is underpinned by the affordability of carbon dots, their straightforward manufacturing process, low toxicity, and minimal susceptibility to photobleaching. Thus, investigating novel carbon dots is essential to identify optimal pH-sensitive candidates. In this study, five carbon dots were synthesized through a simple solvothermal treatment, and their fluorescence was examined as a function of pH within the range of 5-9, across an excitation range of 200-550 nm and an emission range of 250-750 nm. The resulting optical features showed that all five carbon dots exhibited pH sensitivity in both the UV and visible regions. One type of carbon dot, synthesized from m-phenylenediamine, displayed ratiometric properties at four excitation wavelengths, with the best results observed when excited in the visible spectrum at 475 nm. Indeed, these carbon dots exhibited good linearity over pH values of 6-9 in aqueous Carmody buffer solution by calculating the ratio of the green emission band at 525 nm to the orange one at 630 nm (I525nm/I630nm), demonstrating highly suitable properties for ratiometric sensing.

A decade of climate change concern in India: Determinants of personal and societal climate concern

A decade of climate change concern in India: Determinants of personal and societal climate concern

Rhetorical strategies in the climate change disclosures of Bangladeshi banking companies

PurposeThe main objective of this article is to explore the rhetorical persuasive strategies in the climate change-related disclosures of the annual reports of Bangladeshi banking companies.Design/methodology/approachTo fulfil this objective, content and rhetorical analyses are conducted on the climate change-related disclosures in the annual reports of Bangladeshi banks. The analysis is interpreted with the help of Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals (ethos, logos and pathos).FindingsEvidence suggests that Bangladeshi banks disclose climate change-related issues in annual reports. These issues include demonstrating a genuine concern for climate change and exhibiting commitment to green finance and investment, paper and energy conservation, tree plantation, biodiversity and climate change risk funds. They also underscore challenges linked to carbon emissions, air pollution, and natural disasters. These disclosures are persuasive, and rhetorical strategies such as ethos, logos, and pathos are evident. However, the disclosures lacked consistency and comparability because of the absence of reporting regulations and a prescribed framework.Practical implicationsThis study informs managers and policymakers about climate change disclosures in Bangladesh, particularly within the banking industry. The research suggests the need for improved reporting consistency and comparability, potentially achieved through standardised climate change reporting guidelines and mandatory requirements.Originality/valueThis paper’s uniqueness lies in its application of Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle to enhance our understanding of how banking companies in a developing economy strategically employ climate change-related disclosures to influence readers. Rhetorical analysis is limitedly used by accounting scholars in analysing corporate climate-change disclosures.

Climate change concern as driver of sustainable mobility and reduced car use

Climate change concern has been linked to climate-friendly behavior, but little is known on whether and how it may promote sustainable mobility. This paper investigates how worry about climate change relates to attitudes and intentions towards the car as well as the actual use of conventional and electric cars in Oslo and Viken in Norway. Findings indicate a relationship between worry about climate change and reduced car use, mediated by mode preferences and willingness to live car-free. Those concerned about climate change were less likely to commute by a conventional car and used conventional cars less both on weekdays and weekends. Worry about climate change was also related to living in a denser neighborhood, preference for travel modes other than the car, and willingness to live car-free. Raising greater awareness of climate change could contribute to climate change mitigation by promoting car-reduced or car-free lifestyles and sustainable mobility.

Reinforcement learning-based optimization for power scheduling in a renewable energy connected grid

Power scheduling is an NP-hard optimization problem that demands a delicate equilibrium between economic costs and environmental emissions. In response to the growing concern for climate change, global environmental policies prioritize decarbonizing the electricity sector by integrating renewable energies (REs) into power grids. While this integration brings economic and environmental benefits, the intermittency of REs amplifies the uncertainty and complexity of power scheduling. Existing optimization approaches often grapple with a limited number of units, overlook critical parameters, and disregard the intermittency of REs. To address these limitations, this article introduces a robust and scalable optimization algorithm for renewable integrated power scheduling based on reinforcement learning (RL). In this proposed methodology, the power scheduling problem is decomposed into Markov decision processes (MDPs) within a multi-agent simulation environment. The simulated MDPs are used to train a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) model for solving the optimization. The validity and effectiveness of the proposed method are validated across various test systems, encompassing single-to tri-objective problems with 10–100 generating units. The findings consistently demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed DRL algorithm compared to existing methods, such as multi-agent immune system-based evolutionary priority list (MAI-EPL), binary real-coded genetic algorithm (BRCGA), teaching learning-based optimization (TLBO), quasi-oppositional teaching learning-based algorithm (QOTLBO), hybrid genetic-imperialist competitive algorithm (HGICA), three-stage priority list (TSPL), real-coded grey wolf optimization (RCGWO), multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition (MOEAD), and non-dominated sorting algorithms (NSGA-II and NSGA-III). Regarding the experimental results, it is important to highlight the importance of integrating RESs into larger power systems. In a 10-unit system with 2.81 % RE penetration, reductions of 3.42 %, 4.03 %, and 3.10 % were observed in costs, CO2 emissions, and SO2 emissions, respectively. Similarly, in a 100-unit system with a RE penetration rate of only 0.28 %, reductions of 3.75 % in cost, 4.42 % in CO2, and 3.34 % in SO2 were observed. These findings emphasize the effectiveness of RES integration, even at lower penetration rates, in larger-scale power systems.

Comprehensive Analysis and Prioritization of Sustainable Energy Resources Using Analytical Hierarchy Process

The growing global concern for climate change and the need for sustainable energy solutions have driven nations to explore renewable energy alternatives. This research focuses on a developing country heavily reliant on imported electricity and evaluates the potential of renewable energy resources. Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), a multi-criteria decision-making method (MCDM), this study prioritizes sustainable energy resources crucial for energy security and environmental sustainability, given the country’s dependence on traditional and imported power and its potential for renewable energy development. This study employs AHP to evaluate and rank various sustainable energy options, emphasizing their technological, economic, environmental, and social impacts. The novelty of this research lies in its comprehensive and systematic approach to integrating diverse expert opinions and utilizing AHP; the development of a robust decision-making model that accommodates the diverse criteria and sub-criteria (SCs) influencing the prioritization of energy resources; and its bridging of the gaps through the integration of varied criteria and SCs, region-specific concerns, and stakeholders’ engagement by creating a comprehensive and inclusive prioritization strategy. The key findings highlight solar energy as the most viable sustainable energy resource, followed by wind and hydro energy. These results underscore the significant potential for solar energy development, considering its current technological advancements, economic affordability, social acceptance, and environmental friendliness. This study not only provides a prioritized list of sustainable energy resources but also offers a methodological framework adaptable for similar assessments in other regions facing energy transition challenges. Readers will find a detailed explanation of the AHP methodology, the criteria used for evaluating energy resources, and the implications of the findings for policy and decision making. This research is particularly relevant for policymakers, energy planners, and stakeholders interested in sustainable energy development and strategic planning in similar contexts.

Acting on climate change concerns: lay perceptions of possibility, complexity and constraint

ABSTRACT How citizens think about, and relate to, climate change and possibilities for addressing it are sociologically important questions, sharpened in the current context of extensive climate change concern. Social science approaches generally have shown the profound importance of context and the social embeddedness of lay perceptions. More specifically, theories of social practice focus analytic attention away from individuals and onto the economic, energy and social arrangements which drive people’s habituated carbon intensive everyday practices. However, there has been a growing interest in how citizens may, at junctures, be more or less reflexive, evaluative and critical of practices which they carry or adapt. Interested in how citizens engage with possibilities for addressing climate change, we report on new UK-based qualitative research and analyse participants’ accounts of (in)efficacy, responsibility, constraint and affect in acting on climate. We explore contextual variation in the meanings participants bring to acting on climate change, and affective aspects of acting, or feeling situated, ‘against the grain’ of normalised practices. The evidence offers insights into the diverse meanings people bring to the possibility of acting on climate and the ways in which such meanings are enmeshed with, but also often critically evaluative of carbon intensive practices.

What's Good for the Land is Good for the Farmer: Investigating Conservation‐Related Variables as Predictors of Farmers' Job Satisfaction☆

AbstractRising stress, mental health issues, and suicide rates among farmers highlight the need to understand factors influencing their job satisfaction. Farming presents distinct challenges with its unique mix of positive and negative characteristics. This study utilized dual‐factor theory to investigate how various factors, such as economic dynamics, farm financial health, stewardship views, experience with extreme weather, and climate change concerns, influence farmers' job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Data from a 2020 survey of Iowa farmers were analyzed using ordinal logistic regression. Financial health, stewardship motivations, and perceived adequacy of conservation practices emerged as significant predictors of both job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Farmers' extreme weather events experiences were positively associated with job satisfaction, indicating successful coping enhances contentment. Conversely, climate change concern was negatively associated with job satisfaction. As a revenue protection strategy, faith in crop insurance was negatively related to job dissatisfaction. In summary, besides the anticipated positive impact of farm financial health, the findings show that job satisfaction in farming is linked to stewardship motivations and perceived adequacy of conservation practices on the farm. The results suggest an opening for policies and programs aligning financial and conservation goals, potentially enhancing long‐term farmer well‐being and sustainable agricultural practices.

Nationalist environmentalism: can nationalism fuel climate action?

While nationalism and environmentalism have traditionally been viewed as conflicting ideologies, an increasing number of Western parties across the political spectrum are putting forward a discourse that justifies the green energy transition by emphasising its benefits in terms of the national interest, national security and the country’s economy. The discourse of “nationalist environmentalism” is one of the main ways European political leaders have advocated green policies since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and it is the result of a growing concern for climate change in an increasingly conflictive international context. However, although it can be a powerful rhetorical tool, this discourse has important limitations when it comes to addressing climate change, and it may prove unable to prevent the anti-environmental backlash that is expected at the European elections.

Analysis of green deal communication on twitter: environmental and political perspective

The Green Deal and its implementation are generating discussions across society. Changes brought about by the agreement could impact sustainable development worldwide; therefore, identifying the most common Green Deal-related topics on a global scale can offer insight into the public mood around implementation of the agreement. Social networks provide the opportunity to find such topics because they contain a large amount of data produced by users worldwide: analysis of their content can therefore provide insight into the discourse on the Green Deal and identify the sentiment in discussions around this topic. In this article, we present perceptions of the Green Deal and identify the main Green Deal-related topics based on analysis of communication on the Twitter social network (currently X social network). Using the search terms “green deal,” “greendeal,” and “#greendeal,” 192,567 tweets from 89,328 unique users were captured between 1 January 2019 and 31 March 2023. We identified the 40 most used unique hashtags that people used when communicating about the Green Deal, which included “#EU,” “#eugreendeal,” and “#climatechange,” and the 16 most relevant topics discussed in relation to the Green Deal, which included both European (“European Green Deal”) and North American (“Green New Deal”) perspectives. Each topic was associated with a certain amount of negative, positive, or neutral sentiment: the most positive sentiment was associated with the “Industrial plan” and “Hydrogen” topics, and the most negative sentiment was associated with topics relating to “Joe Biden” and “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.” Overall, our analysis of the discourse regarding the Green Deal offers organizations and decision-makers insight into how people perceive different aspects of the Green Deal and related topics. This may be beneficial in tackling disinformation across social networks and increasing public awareness, which could create a society better equipped to face the global concern of climate change.

Effectiveness of Soil-amended Biochar in Improving Crop Production, Soil Health and Environmental Aspects

Effectiveness of Soil-amended Biochar in Improving Crop Production, Soil Health and Environmental Aspects

Basic and Advanced Logical Concept Derived from Surface Enhanced Infrared Spectroscopy (SEIRS) as Sensing Probe for Analysis of Chemical Species: A Brief Review

The worldwide concern for environmental pollution, climate change and health hazards caused by various pollutants has significantly increased in the recent past. Various techniques have so far been employed for sensing applications of such organic as well as inorganic pollutants. Amongst the different techniques, surface enhanced infrared spectroscopy (SEIRS) is a powerful tool which is utilized for label-free and unambiguous identification of molecular species. SEIRS overcomes the limitations of the conventional infrared spectroscopy and has emerged as a potential technique with high surface sensitivity by enhancing the signals by many folds and also facilitates new studies from the fundamental aspect to applied sciences. The current review is dedicated to a comprehension of the SEIRS technique to provide a critical overview of its application as sensing probe for analysis of chemical species. The major features of Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy and SEIRS have been critically discussed.

Regression based stochastic energy management strategy for a grid connected microgrid using Artificial Electric Field Algorithm

Recent decade has witnessed steep technological advancement in the renewable energy sector due to growing concern of climate change and emission cut target. The lack of availability of fossil fuels and the high price of the same have made the use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) as a promising approach for generating clean and sustainable energy at local level. This persuades the implementation of Microgrid (MG) supported with RES, to cater various types of load demand. However, planning and optimizing a MG operation have become challenging due to the intermittent nature of RES and uncertain loads. To address this issue, this paper introduces a Stochastic Energy Management Strategy (SEMS) for a grid connected MG comprising Photovoltaic, Wind Turbine, Fuel Cell, Micro Turbine, Battery Energy Storage and electrical as well as heat energy demand. The volatilities of RES power output and energy demand are modeled via Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) and Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) respectively. The problem is framed as non-linear (NL) dynamic stochastic optimization problem and solved using ‘Artificial Electric Field Algorithm (AEFA)’. Here, minimization of expected value of operational and emission cost are taken as objective functions; while various practicality aspects are modeled as constraints in the problem. Further, the efficacy of the proposed approach is validated around the first central moment of the load. Various case studies are performed to estimate the day ahead optimum operating schedule of the Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and to assess the impact of load uncertainties on DER operation and total MG operation cost. Further, the efficacy of the GPR is verified through comparison with MCS based result.

Factors affecting environmental sustainability attitudes among nurses - Focusing on climate change cognition and behaviours: A cross-sectional study.

To investigate the relationship between climate change cognition and behaviours (awareness, concern, motivation, behaviours at home and behaviours at work), positive and negative future cognition, and environmental sustainability attitudes in nurses and to identify the factors affecting environmental sustainability attitudes. A cross-sectional study. In total, 358 nurses currently working in tertiary hospitals in Korea were recruited. Data were collected using an online questionnaire link from 1 August to 7 August 2022. Climate change cognition and behaviours were measured using the Korean version of the Climate, Health, and Nursing Tool. Positive and negative future cognition were measured using the Korean version of the Future Event Questionnaire. Environmental sustainability attitude was measured using the Korean version of the Sustainability Attitudes in Nursing Survey-2. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify the factors affecting environmental sustainability attitudes. Motivation, concern and behaviours at work were factors affecting environmental sustainability attitudes. Motivation was a pivotal influencing factor. Better scores for environmental sustainability attitudes were specifically correlated with higher scores for motivation, concern and behaviours at work. Nurses' motivation, climate change concern and pro-environmental workplace practices should all be considered to improve their attitudes towards environmental sustainability. To enhance nurses' environmental sustainability attitudes and behaviours, nurse educators must educate them to increase their motivation for climate action. Nurses are increasingly expected to contribute to environmental sustainability. Hence, awareness of climate change and environmental sustainability among nurses must be improved, and nursing engagement and action encouraged. Nurse educators and managers should explore barriers to pro-environmental behaviour engagement among nurses, examine workplace cultures that encourage pro-environmental behaviours and develop policies/regulations to develop more environmentally sustainable workplaces. We adhered to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. Neither patients nor the public were involved in our research's design, conduct, reporting or dissemination plans. The nurses partook in this study exclusively as research participants and were not involved in any research process.

Development and validation of the Emotional Climate Change Stories (ECCS) stimuli set

Climate change is widely recognised as an urgent issue, and the number of people concerned about it is increasing. While emotions are among the strongest predictors of behaviour change in the face of climate change, researchers have only recently begun to investigate this topic experimentally. This may be due to the lack of standardised, validated stimuli that would make studying such a topic in experimental settings possible. Here, we introduce a novel Emotional Climate Change Stories (ECCS) stimuli set. ECCS consists of 180 realistic short stories about climate change, designed to evoke five distinct emotions—anger, anxiety, compassion, guilt and hope—in addition to neutral stories. The stories were created based on qualitative data collected in two independent studies: one conducted among individuals highly concerned about climate change, and another one conducted in the general population. The stories were rated on the scales of valence, arousal, anger, anxiety, compassion, guilt and hope in the course of three independent studies. First, we explored the underlying structure of ratings (Study 1; n = 601). Then we investigated the replicability (Study 2; n = 307) and cross-cultural validity (Study 3; n = 346) of ECCS. The collected ratings were highly consistent across the studies. Furthermore, we found that the level of climate change concern explained the intensity of elicited emotions. The ECCS dataset is available in Polish, Norwegian and English and can be employed for experimental research on climate communication, environmental attitudes, climate action-taking, or mental health and wellbeing.