A Warming World’s Disparity : How Perceptions of Inequality Affect Climate-Related Behavior and Policy Support

Abstract

Climate change and inequality are deeply interconnected. Global debates reflect historical emission disparities between the Global North and South, while younger generations face disproportionate climate burdens. Economic inequality also shapes climate politics, as mitigation policies can have regressive effects that provoke backlash from low-income or rural groups who depend more on fossil fuels. Yet little is known about how citizens perceive these inequalities or how such perceptions shape their willingness to act or support policy. This dissertation addresses this gap through three studies comparing the effects of economic, generational, and regional inequality on climate-friendly behavior and support for mitigation policies. The first study examines how perceived economic, generational, and global inequalities affect willingness to adopt low-emission lifestyles using a representative survey and vignette experiment in Germany. Respondents were most open to reducing air travel, least to limiting car use or meat consumption. While economic inequality was seen as most unfair, generational and global inequality frames more strongly increased willingness to act - but only modestly, suggesting that inequality framing alone cannot drive large-scale behavioral change. The second research paper shifts focus to policy support, examining how economic and generational inequality concerns interact in the context of domestic climate policy. Using a module of the Inequality Barometer survey in Germany, it implements an information-provision experiment on the perceived economic burdens of carbon taxation and the unequal generational consequences of climate change, with an additional treatment highlighting the 2021 German Constitutional Court ruling in favor of protecting future generations. Economic inequality information reduced support, while generational inequality increased it; combined, the economic effect dominated. The court ruling partly mitigated opposition, particularly among right-leaning respondents, revealing both opportunities and limits of legal cues in increasing policy support. The third study investigates regional and economic inequality in Austria’s regionally differentiated carbon tax rebate through a survey experiment. Information about regional differentiation lowered perceived regional unfairness but did not raise overall support. Regional framing yielded higher approval among rural and right-leaning participants, yet differences by political alignment and trust persisted. Panel data further showed no increase in support after the rebate’s introduction. Across studies, perceptions of inequality influence climate action and policy support in nuanced, context-dependent ways. Political orientation and trust consistently outweigh inequality framing effects. Generational and global inequality frames are more effective in motivating behavioral change, whereas economic inequality reduces policy support despite compensation mechanisms. Regional fairness matters symbolically but does not guarantee higher acceptance. By comparing multiple inequality dimensions, this dissertation clarifies the psychological and political pathways linking fairness perceptions to climate action and highlights the limits of fairness-based framing and compensation in building public support for equitable climate policy.