Assessing the public willingness to contribute income to mitigate the effects of climate change: A comparison of Adelaide and Lisbon

Abstract

While the scientific rationale for climate change mitigation has never been stronger, the Australian public is still hesitant about personally contributing to its costs. This public reticence is often explained as resulting from cost–benefit calculations and a human propensity to prioritize present over future goods. In this article we argue that these assumptions have limited bearing on people’s willingness to contribute. Our research supports this by demonstrating that the people of Lisbon, Portugal, are more willing to contribute than those of Adelaide, despite Portugal’s poorer economic conditions. Furthermore, willingness to contribute in both Lisbon and Adelaide does not diminish when the effects of climate change are deemed to be further away. Drawing on these results, we seek to begin the discussion of how social and cultural factors shape public attitudes towards climate change, and thus further build upon the research looking sociologically at people’s willingness to act.