Jylhä, Kirsti , Duus-Otterström, Göran , Bykvist, Krister | 2026
Frontiers in Psychology
Issues of climate justice are extensively debated among scholars and politicians, yet research into public perceptions is scarce. In a Swedish study (N = 680), we examined public perceptions, intercorrelations, and correlates of various debated climate justice issues, here referred to as “climate justice demands.”
Our main analyses focused on two indexes: (1) international-level demands: on behalf of poor countries, based on different climate justice principles (polluter pays, ability to pay, right to development), and; (2) individual-level demands: individual duties to act, including views on private/generalized morality, and
interpersonal fairness.
We found widespread support for demands for rich and high-emitting countries to provide climate aid to poor countries, and for individual climate action. In regression analyses, after controlling for all covariates, both our indexes correlated negatively with climate change denial, and positively with climate worry on behalf of more distant others (future generations, people living in poorer countries, and animals/nature), personal climate action, and political trust. Moreover, international-level demands correlated positively with age, and negatively with personal climate worry and social dominance orientation, while individual-level demands correlated negatively with (male) gender. The results of our study could be considered in climate change communication. It seems possible that at least some opposition to climate policies could be reduced by explicitly connecting them to justice principles. Considering the persistent gridlock in international and domestic climate politics, we call for more research to examine climate justice perceptions across societal groups and cultural contexts. Our interdisciplinary analyses, combining psychology, political science, and philosophy, could guide such inquiries.
