Negative Emotions and Climate Policy Support in Russia

Current research suggests that the relationship between negative emotions and pro-environmental behaviour is not consistent across contexts, and that different negative emotions can both increase and decrease motivation to act. This paper is a post hoc analysis of the role of negative emotions in supporting climate change policy in the context of Russia, also examining the role of sociodemographic factors. Based on a randomized controlled experimental design with a total sample size of N = 246, we assess the expression of six negative emotions in relation to perceptions of climate change, and their role in increasing support for a set of key climate policies. The results show that the overall expression of negative emotions is positively associated with support for the full set of climate policies, but the effect varies significantly across policies. In terms of sociodemographic factors, taking into account the factor structure of the climate policy support, support for poli- cies that relate to taxes is more strongly determined by education; support for policies that relate to energy infrastruc- ture and business, as well as forest and water protection, is determined by gen- der; the latter is also negatively associated with respondents' income level. In practi- cal terms, the results indicate the need to develop a balanced communication strat- egy to attract the attention of Russian society to climate change, to familiarize population with the short- and long-term effects of the introduction of various poli- cies to counteract climate change, and to create an information flow that promotes an emotional attitude to the problem, which is as effective as possible for sup- porting policies developed by the state and the scientific community.