The Climate Crisis and Consumer Behavior: The Relationship between Climate Change Anxiety and Sustainable Consumption

Yıl 2023, Cilt: 20 Sayı: 2, 520 - 536, 31.08.2023

Kübra Ecer , Murat Çetin , Selami Varol Ülker

https://doi.org/10.33437/ksusbd.1340526

Öz

Research on the psychological effects of climate change is increasing, and studies suggest that climate change anxiety (CCA) can positively contribute to sustainable production and consumption as a constructive concern. Studies conducted in various countries have particularly highlighted higher levels of CCA among young individuals due to concerns about a sustainable future in the face of climate change. This exploratory study aims to examine the relationship between CCA and sustainable consumption (SC) among young individuals in Turkey. Firstly, a conceptual framework is provided for CCA and SC. Based on the assumption that individuals experiencing anxiety or concern due to the visible impacts of climate crisis will engage in climate change mitigation and adopt sustainable consumption behavior (SCB), the study found that participants had a low level of CCA. However, structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed a positive relationship between CCA and SC (β=0.295, p<0.001) among the participants. Considering the urgency of the climate crisis, this study contributes to the literature by providing exploratory insights into the role of CCA as a motivating factor for SC, highlighting the need for further detailed research in this area.

Anahtar Kelimeler

climate change, climate change anxiety, eco-anxiety, Sustainable consumption, consumer behavior

İklim Krizi ve Tüketici Davranışı: İklim Değişikliği Anksiyetesi ve Sürdürülebilir Tüketim İlişkisi

Öz

İklim değişikliğinin psikolojik etkileri üzerine yapılan araştırmalar her geçen gün artmaktadır ve yapılan çalışmalar iklim değişikliği anksiyetesinin, yapıcı bir endişe olarak sürdürülebilir üretim ve tüketime olumlu katkı sağlayabileceğini öne sürmektedir. Farklı ülkelerde gerçekleştirilen çalışmalarda, iklim değişikliği ve sürdürülebilir bir gelecek konusundaki endişeler nedeniyle, genç bireyler arasında daha yüksek iklim değişikliği anksiyetesi bulunduğu iddia edilmektedir. Bu keşifsel çalışmada, Türkiye'deki genç bireyler arasında iklim değişikliği anksiyetesi ve sürdürülebilir tüketim davranışı arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemej amaçlanmaktadır. Çalışmada öncelikle iklim değişikliği anksiyetesi ve sürdürülebilir tüketim için kavramsal bir çerçeve sunulmaktadır. İklim krizinin görünür etkileri nedeniyle kaygı veya anksiyete yaşayan bireylerin iklim değişikliği ile mücadeleye gireceği ve sürdürülebilir tüketim davranışını benimseyeceği varsayımına dayanan çalışmada, katılımcıların düşük bir iklim değişikliği anksiyete düzeyine sahip olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Bununla birlikte, katılımcıların iklim değişikliği anksiyete düzeyleri ile sürdürülebilir tüketim davranışları arasındaki ilişkinin tespitine dair kurulan yapısal eşitlik modelinde; iklim değişikliği anksiyetesi ile sürdürülebilir tüketim davranışı arasında pozitif bir ilişki olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır (β=0.295, p<0.001). İklim krizinin aciliyeti göz önüne alındığında, bu çalışma iklim değişikliği anksiyetesinin sürdürülebilir tüketim davranışı için motive edici bir faktör olduğunu öne sürerek ve bu alanda daha ayrıntılı araştırmalara olan ihtiyacı vurgulayarak literatüre katkı sağlamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

İklim değişikliği, iklim değişikliği anksiyetesi, eko-anksiyete, sürdürülebilir tüketim, tüketici davranışı

Kaynakça

• Albrecht, G. (2012). Psychoterratic conditions in a scientific and technological world. Ecopsychology: Science, Totems, and the Technological Species, 241–264.
• Albrecht, G., Sartore, G.-M., Connor, L., Higginbotham, N., Freeman, S., Kelly, B., Stain, H., Tonna, A., & Pollard, G. (2007). Solastalgia: the distress caused by environmental change. Australasian Psychiatry, 15(sup1), S95–S98.
• Alvarez-Suárez, P., Vega-Marcote, P., & Garcia Mira, R. (2013). Sustainable consumption: a teaching intervention in higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 15(1), 3–15.
• Austin, E. K., Handley, T., Kiem, A. S., Rich, J. L., Lewin, T. J., Askland, H. H., Askarimarnani, S. S., Perkins, D. A., & Kelly, B. J. (2018). Drought‐related stress among farmers: findings from the Australian Rural Mental Health Study. Medical Journal of Australia, 209(4), 159–165.
• Bennett, J., & Collins, D. (2009). The policy implications of sustainable consumption. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 16(1), 47–55.
• Bouman, T., Verschoor, M., Albers, C. J., Böhm, G., Fisher, S. D., Poortinga, W., Whitmarsh, L., & Steg, L. (2020). When worry about climate change leads to climate action: How values, worry and personal responsibility relate to various climate actions. Global Environmental Change, 62, 102061.
• Bourque, F., & Willox, A. C. (2014). Climate change: the next challenge for public mental health? International Review of Psychiatry, 26(4), 415–422. https://doi.org/10.3109/09540261.2014.925851
• Carbon Brief. (2017). Analysis: Just four years left of the 1.5 C carbon budget. https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-four-years-left-one-point-five-carbon-budget/
• Cianconi, P., Betrò, S., & Janiri, L. (2020). The impact of climate change on mental health: A systematic descriptive review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00074
• Clayton, S. (2020). Climate anxiety: Psychological responses to climate change. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 74, 102263. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JANXDIS.2020.102263
• Clayton, S. (2021). Climate change and mental health. Current Environmental Health Reports, 8, 1–6. Clayton, S., & Karazsia, B. T. (2020). Development and validation of a measure of climate change anxiety. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 69, 101434.
• Clayton, S., Manning, C. M., Krygsman, K., & Speiser, M. (2017). Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance. American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica.
• Coffey, Y., Bhullar, N., Durkin, J., Islam, M. S., & Usher, K. (2021). Understanding eco-anxiety: A systematic scoping review of current literature and identified knowledge gaps. The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 3, 100047.
• Cordial, P., Riding-Malon, R., & Lips, H. (2012). The effects of mountaintop removal coal mining on mental health, well-being, and community health in central appalachia. Ecopsychology, 4(3), 201–208. https://doi.org/10.1089/ECO.2012.0032
• Cornel, S. (2018). The effectiveness of nudging in increasing recycling behaviour [University of Amsterdam]. https://scripties.uba.uva.nl/download?fid=657064
• Costello, A., Abbas, M., Allen, A., Ball, S., Bell, S., Bellamy, R., Friel, S., Groce, N., Johnson, A., Kett, M., Lee, M., Levy, C., Maslin, M., McCoy, D., McGuire, B., Montgomery, H., Napier, D., Pagel, C., Patel, J., … Patterson, C. (2009). Managing the health effects of climate change. Lancet and University College London Institute for Global Health Commission. The Lancet, 373(9676), 1693–1733. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60935-1
• Crandon, T. J., Scott, J. G., Charlson, F. J., & Thomas, H. J. (2022). A social–ecological perspective on climate anxiety in children and adolescents. Nature Climate Change, 12(2), 123–131. https://doi.org/10.1038/S41558-021-01251-Y
• Cunsolo, A., & Ellis, N. R. (2018). Ecological grief as a mental health response to climate change-related loss. Nature Climate Change, 8(4), 275–281. https://doi.org/10.1038/S41558-018-0092-2
• Davidson, D. J., & Kecinski, M. (2022). Emotional pathways to climate change responses. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 13(2), e751.
• Doğan, O., Bulut, Z. A., & Çımrın, F. K. (2015). Bireylerin sürdürülebilir tüketim davranışlarının ölçülmesine yönelik bir ölçek geliştirme çalışması. Ataturk University Journal of Economics & Administrative Sciences, 29(4).
• Doherty, T. J., & Clayton, S. (2011). The psychological impacts of global climate change. American Psychologist, 66(4), 265–276.
• Dunlap, R. E., & Jones, R. E. (2002). Environmental concern: Conceptual and measurement issues. Handbook of Environmental Sociology, 3(6), 482–524.
• Eisenman, D., McCaffrey, S., Donatello, I., & Marshal, G. (2015). An ecosystems and vulnerable populations perspective on solastalgia and psychological distress after a wildfire. EcoHealth, 12, 602–610.
• Eurostat. (2023). Youth. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/youth
• Evans, D. M., Browne, A. L., & Gortemaker, I. A. (2020). Environmental leapfrogging and everyday climate cultures: sustainable water consumption in the Global South. Climatic Change, 163(1), 83–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10584-018-2331-Y
• Farr, D. (2018). Sustainable nation: Urban design patterns for the future. John Wiley & Sons.
• Freudenreich, B., Lüdeke-Freund, F., & Schaltegger, S. (2020). A stakeholder theory perspective on business models: Value creation for sustainability. Journal of Business Ethics, 166, 3–18.
• Friedlingstein, P., Jones, M. W., O’Sullivan, M., Andrew, R. M., Hauck, J., Peters, G. P., Peters, W., Pongratz, J., Sitch, S., Le Quéré, C., DBakker, O. C. E., Canadell1, J. G., Ciais1, P., Jackson, R. B., Anthoni1, P., Barbero, L., Bastos, A., Bastrikov, V., Becker, M., … Zaehle, S. (2019). Global carbon budget 2019. Earth System Science Data, 11(4), 1783–1838. https://doi.org/10.5194/ESSD-11-1783-2019
• Fuchs, D., & Lorek, S. (2005). Sustainable consumption governance: a history of promises and failures. Journal Consumer Policy, 28(3), 261–288. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10603-005-8490-z
• Griggs, D., Stafford-Smith, M., Gaffney, O., J., R., Öhman, M. C., Shyamsundar, P., & Nobble, I. (2013). Policy: Sustainable development goals for people and planet. Nature, 495, 305–307.
• Gürbüz, S. (2010). Amos ile yapısal eşitlik modellemesi. Seçkin Yayıncılık.
• Helm, S., Kemper, J. A., & White, S. K. (2021). No future, no kids–no kids, no future? An exploration of motivations to remain childfree in times of climate change. Population and Environment, 43, 108–129.
• Helm, S. V., Pollitt, A., Barnett, M. A., Curran, M. A., & Craig, Z. R. (2018). Differentiating environmental concern in the context of psychological adaption to climate change. Global Environmental Change, 48, 158–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.GLOENVCHA.2017.11.012
• Hess, P. N. (2013). Economic growth and sustainable development. Routledge.
• Hickman, C. (2020). We need to (find a way to) talk about … Eco-anxiety. Journal of Social Work Practice, 34(4), 411–424. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2020.1844166
• Higgins, E., Leinenger, M., & Rayner, K. (2014). Eye movements when viewing advertisements. Frontiers in Psychology, 5(MAR), 210. https://doi.org/10.3389/FPSYG.2014.00210/BIBTEX
• Hogg, T. L., Stanley, S. K., O’Brien, L. V., Wilson, M. S., & Watsford, C. R. (2021). The Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale: Development and validation of a multidimensional scale. Global Environmental Change, 71, 102391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102391
• Homburg, A., & Stolberg, A. (2006). Explaining pro-environmental behavior with a cognitive theory of stress. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 26(1), 1–14.
• Hong, Y., Hu, J., Chen, M., & Tang, S. (2023). Motives and antecedents affecting green purchase intention: Implications for green economic recovery. Economic Analysis and Policy, 77, 523–538. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EAP.2022.12.005
• Innocenti, M., Santarelli, G., Faggi, V., Castellini, G., Manelli, I., Magrini, G., Galassi, F., & Ricca, V. (2021). Psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Climate Change Anxiety Scale. The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 3, 100080. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2021.100080
• IPCC. (2018). Summary for Policymakers. Global Warming of 1.5°C. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157940.001
• IPCC. (2022). Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. In P. R. Shukla, J. Skea, R. Slade, A. Al Khourdajie, R. Van Diemen, D. McCollum, M. Pathak, S. Some, P. Vyas, R. Fradera, M. Belkacemi, A. Hasija, G. Lisboa, S. Luz, & J. Malley (Eds.), Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157926
• Joshi, Y., & Rahman, Z. (2015). Factors affecting green purchase behaviour and future research directions. International Strategic Management Review, 3(1), 128–143. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2306774815000034
• Joshi, Yatish, Sangroya, D., Srivastava, A. P., & Yadav, M. (2019). Modelling the predictors of young consumers’ sustainable consumption intention. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 24(4), e1663.
• Kadic-Maglajlic, S., Arslanagic-Kalajdzic, M., Micevski, M., Dlacic, J., & Zabkar, V. (2019). Being engaged is a good thing: Understanding sustainable consumption behavior among young adults. Journal of Business Research, 104, 644–654. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JBUSRES.2019.02.040
• Kohl, A. (2022). Climate change and consumer behaviour: The impact of eco-anxiety on the consumption habits of Finns below 30 years of age.
• Kumar, B., Manrai, A. K., & Manrai, L. A. (2017). Purchasing behaviour for environmentally sustainable products: A conceptual framework and empirical study. Elsevier, 34, 1-9. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698916304106
• Lehner, M., Mont, O., & Heiskanen, E. (2016). Nudging–A promising tool for sustainable consumption behaviour? Journal of Cleaner Production, 134, 166–177.
• Meng, M. D., & Leary, R. B. (2021). It might be ethical, but I won’t buy it: Perceived contamination of, and disgust towards, clothing made from recycled plastic bottles. Psychology and Marketing, 38(2), 298–312. https://doi.org/10.1002/MAR.21323
• Myers, S. S., & Patz, J. A. (2009). Emerging Threats to Human Health from Global Environmental Change. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.environ.033108.102650
• Nordin, N., & Selke, S. (2010). Social aspect of sustainable packaging. Packaging Technology and Science, 23(6), 317–326. https://doi.org/10.1002/PTS.899
• Ogunbode, C. A., Doran, R., Hanss, D., Ojala, M., Salmela-Aro, K., van den Broek, K. L., Bhullar, N., Aquino, S. D., Marot, T., Schermer, J. A., Wlodarczyk, A., Lu, S., Jiang, F., Maran, D. A., Yadav, R., Ardi, R., Chegeni, R., Ghanbarian, E., Zand, S., … Karasu, M. (2022). Climate anxiety, wellbeing and pro-environmental action: correlates of negative emotional responses to climate change in 32 countries. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 84, 101887. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JENVP.2022.101887
• Ojala, M., Cunsolo, A., Ogunbode, C. A., & Middleton, J. (2021). Anxiety, worry, and grief in a time of environmental and climate crisis: A narrative review. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 46, 35–58.
• Perera, L. C., & Hewege, C. R. (2013). Climate change risk perceptions and environmentally conscious behaviour among young environmentalists in Australia. Young Consumers, 14(2), 139–154. https://doi.org/10.1108/17473611311325546/FULL/HTML
• Pickering, G. J., & Dale, G. (2023). Trait anxiety predicts pro-environmental values and climate change action. Personality and Individual Differences, 205, 112101. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PAID.2023.112101 Pihkala, P. (2020a). Anxiety and the ecological crisis: An analysis of eco-anxiety and climate anxiety. Sustainability, 12(19), 7836.
• Pihkala, P. (2020b). Eco-Anxiety and Environmental Education. Sustainability 2020, Vol. 12, Page 10149, 12(23), 10149. https://doi.org/10.3390/SU122310149
• Ray, S., & Nayak, L. (2023). Marketing Sustainable Fashion: Trends and Future Directions. Sustainability 2023, Vol. 15, Page 6202, 15(7), 6202. https://doi.org/10.3390/SU15076202
• Reser, J. P., Bradley, G. L., Glendon, A. I., Ellul, M. C., & Callaghan, R. (2011). Public risk perceptions, understandings and responses to climate change and natural disasters in Australia, 2010 and 2011. In National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility. https://www.unisdr.org/preventionweb/files/30470_finalreportreserpublicriskperceptio.pdf
• Ripple, W. J., Wolf, C., Newsome, T. M., Barnard, P., & Moomaw, W. R. (2020). World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency. BioScience, 70(1), 8–12. https://doi.org/10.1093/BIOSCI/BIZ088
• Sangervo, J., Jylhä, K. M., & Pihkala, P. (2022). Climate anxiety: Conceptual considerations, and connections with climate hope and action. Global Environmental Change, 76, 102569.
• Sanson, A., & Bellemo, M. (2021). Children and youth in the climate crisis. BJPsych Bulletin, 45(4), 205–209. https://doi.org/10.1192/BJB.2021.16
• Searle, K., & Gow, K. (2010). Do concerns about climate change lead to distress? International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 2(4), 362–379. https://doi.org/10.1108/17568691011089891/FULL/PDF
• Shen, J. (2012). Understanding the Determinants of Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Eco-Labeled Products: An Empirical Analysis of the China Environmental Label. Journal of Service Science and Management, 2012(01), 87–94. https://doi.org/10.4236/JSSM.2012.51011
• Sjöstrand, F., & Hansen, E. (2020). Predicting Pro-environmental Behaviours with Locus of Control and Ecoanxiety.
• Smith, N. W., & Joffe, H. (2009). Climate change in the British press: the role of the visual. Http://Dx.Doi.Org/10.1080/13669870802586512, 12(5), 647–663. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669870802586512
• Stanley, S. K., Hogg, T. L., Leviston, Z., & Walker, I. (2021). From anger to action: Differential impacts of eco-anxiety, eco-depression, and eco-anger on climate action and wellbeing. The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 1, 100003.
• Stern, P. C. (2000). New environmental theories: toward a coherent theory of environmentally significant behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 407–424.
• Stewart, A. E. (2015). The measurement of personal self-efficacy in preparing for a hurricane and its role in modeling the likelihood of evacuation. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 3(3), 630–653. https://doi.org/10.3390/JMSE3030630
• Tseng, S. C., & Hung, S. W. (2013). A framework identifying the gaps between customers’ expectations and their perceptions in green products. Journal of Cleaner Production, 59, 174–184.
• Tunn, V. S. C., Bocken, N. M. P., van den Hende, E. A., & Schoormans, J. P. L. (2019). Business models for sustainable consumption in the circular economy: An expert study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 212, 324–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2018.11.290
• UN. (2015). Sustainable Developments Goals: Goal 12: Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns. United Nations.
• UN. (2023a). Sustainability. https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability
• UN. (2023b). Sustainable consumption and production policies. https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/resource-efficiency/what-we-do/sustainable-consumption-and-production-policies Ur Rahman, S., Chwialkowska, A., Hussain, N., Akbar Bhatti, W., Luomala, H., Hussain nhussain, N., Waheed Akbar Bhatti, rugnl, Luomala harriluomala, H., & Ur Rahman, S. (2021). Cross-cultural perspective on sustainable consumption: implications for consumer motivations and promotion. Environment, Development and Sustainability 2021 25:2, 25(2), 997–1016. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10668-021-02059-8
• Usher, K., Durkin, J., & Bhullar, N. (2019). Eco-anxiety: How thinking about climate change-related environmental decline is affecting our mental health. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 28(6), 1233–1234. https://doi.org/10.1111/INM.12673
• Verplanken, B., Marks, E., & Dobromir, A. I. (2020). On the nature of eco-anxiety: How constructive or unconstructive is habitual worry about global warming? Journal of Environmental Psychology, 72, 101528. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JENVP.2020.101528
• Verplanken, B., & Roy, D. (2013). My worries are rational, climate change is not: Habitual ecological worrying is an adaptive response. Plos One, 8(9), e74708. https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0074708
• Wang, P., Liu, Q., & Qi, Y. (2014). Factors influencing sustainable consumption behaviors: a survey of the rural residents in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 63, 152–165.
• Wang, Pengji, & Kuah, A. T. H. (2018). Green marketing cradle-to-cradle: Remanufactured products in Asian markets. Thunderbird International Business Review, 60(5), 783–795. https://doi.org/10.1002/TIE.21925
• Watkins, E. R. (2008). Constructive and Unconstructive Repetitive Thought. Psychological Bulletin, 134(2), 163–206. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.134.2.163
• Weber, E. U. (2006). Experience-based and description-based perceptions of long-term risk: Why global warming does not scare us (yet). Climatic Change, 77(1), 103–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-006-9060-3
• Whitmarsh, L., Player, L., Jiongco, A., James, M., Williams, M., Marks, E., & Kennedy-Williams, P. (2022). Climate anxiety: What predicts it and how is it related to climate action? Journal of Environmental Psychology, 83, 101866.
• Wu, H., & Dunn, S. (1995). Environmentally responsible logistics systems. Management, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics, 25(2), 20–38.
• Wu, J., Snell, G., & Samji, H. (2020). Climate anxiety in young people: a call to action. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(10), e435–e436. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30223-0
• Wullenkord, M. C., Tröger, J., Hamann, K. R. S., Loy, L. S., & Reese, G. (2021). Anxiety and climate change: a validation of the Climate Anxiety Scale in a German-speaking quota sample and an investigation of psychological correlates. Climatic Change, 168(3–4), 20.