TY - JOUR
T1 - Hope for the future and willingness to pay for sustainable energy
AU - Pleeging, E
AU - van Exel, Job
AU - Burger, Martijn
AU - Stavropoulos, Spyridon
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020
PY - 2021/3
Y1 - 2021/3
N2 - In this study, we examine whether Willingness To Pay (WTP) for green energy is related to hope and several attitudes towards climate change, namely, denial, worry and level of understanding. Using cross-sectional data comprising answers from 905 respondents from the Netherlands, we find that people who are more generally hopeful are willing to pay more for green energy, but only if this hope is not based on denial of the severity of the issue. In addition, we find that WTP is associated with understanding and worry, and that these attitudes are even more closely related to WTP if they are accompanied by hope. Hope based on denial however strengthens the negative relation of a lack of worry and understanding with WTP. These findings highlight the importance of fostering realistic hopes regarding climate change to encourage sustainable behaviour, and could help to frame sustainability policies and measures in a way that maximizes people's willingness to support and contribute to investments in climate change mitigation.
AB - In this study, we examine whether Willingness To Pay (WTP) for green energy is related to hope and several attitudes towards climate change, namely, denial, worry and level of understanding. Using cross-sectional data comprising answers from 905 respondents from the Netherlands, we find that people who are more generally hopeful are willing to pay more for green energy, but only if this hope is not based on denial of the severity of the issue. In addition, we find that WTP is associated with understanding and worry, and that these attitudes are even more closely related to WTP if they are accompanied by hope. Hope based on denial however strengthens the negative relation of a lack of worry and understanding with WTP. These findings highlight the importance of fostering realistic hopes regarding climate change to encourage sustainable behaviour, and could help to frame sustainability policies and measures in a way that maximizes people's willingness to support and contribute to investments in climate change mitigation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85094835286&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106900
DO - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106900
M3 - Article
SN - 0921-8009
VL - 181
JO - Ecological Economics
JF - Ecological Economics
M1 - 106900
ER -
