War and pandemic do not jeopardize Germans' willingness to support climate measures

The economic implications of the Russo-Ukrainian War and the impact of lockdown restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic do not negatively affect public support for climate measures and suggest a crisis-as-opportunity perspective, according to a 2022 survey experiment with 5438 German residents. How do the impacts of acute crises influence citizens' willingness to support different types of climate measures? An acute crisis can be understood either as an impediment or as an opportunity for climate change mitigation. In the first perspective, crisis impacts would create negative spill-overs and dampen citizens' willingness to support climate action, while in the second perspective, the opposite would occur. Based on a survey experiment fielded in Germany in 2022 (n = 5438), we find that the economic implications of the Russo-Ukrainian War do not decrease behavioral willingness, while restrictions of civil liberties to combat the COVID-19 pandemic lead to higher climate support, underpinning the crisis-as-opportunity perspective. Willingness to support climate measures is strongest among (1) those most concerned about climate change, and (2) those who trust the government. We conclude that individuals do not wish climate change mitigation to be deprioritized on the back of other crises.

Automated summary

According to a 2022 survey experiment with 5438 German residents, the economic implications of the Russo-Ukrainian War and the lockdown restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic do not negatively affect public support for climate measures, indicating a crisis-as-opportunity perspective. The study explores how acute crises impact citizens' willingness to support different types of climate measures. The findings suggest that crisis impacts can be viewed as both obstacles and opportunities for climate change mitigation.