Cultural Differences and Interdependencies in Climate Change Mitigation Efforts and Their Psychological Antecedents Across 63 Countries
Danila Valko and Kristin Thompson
Sustainable Development
Climate change research, like much of social science, is biased toward WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) populations, limiting its global relevance. Even cross-national studies often suffer from methodological inconsistencies due to cultural and geographic interdependencies. This study examines how such differences shape psychological drivers and national climate mitigation outcomes. Using preregistered analyses on large-scale datasets and various distance metrics, we find that greater cultural distance correlates with weaker renewable energy adoption, environmental policies, and sustainability spending. Individual psychological factors, such as environmental identity and climate beliefs, also predict national outcomes, even after accounting for interdependence. These findings underscore the need for culturally inclusive and methodologically rigorous approaches in climate research to better inform global sustainability policy.
November / 2025
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