Does risk communication really decrease cooperation in climate change mitigation?

Mike Farjam (), Olexandr Nikolaychuk () and Giangiacomo Bravo ()
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Mike Farjam: Department of Social Studies, Linnaeus University, Växjö Sweden; and Linnaeus University Centre for Data Intensive Sciences & Applications (DISA@LNU), Växjö Sweden
Giangiacomo Bravo: Department of Social Studies, Linnaeus University, Växjö Sweden; and Linnaeus University Centre for Data Intensive Sciences & Applications (DISA@LNU), Växjö Sweden

No 2017-014, Jena Economics Research Papers from Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena

Abstract: Effective communication of risks involved in the climate change discussion is crucial and despite ambitious protection policies, the possibility of irreversible consequences actually occurring can only be diminished but never ruled out completely. We present a laboratory experiment that studies how residual risk of failure affects willingness to contribute to climate protection policies. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, we find that the contributions were higher in treatments with residual risk than in treatments without one. We interpret this as an outcome of a psychological process where residual risk puts participants into an "alarm mode", keeping their contributions high. We discuss the broad practical implications this might have on the real world communication of climate change.

Keywords: collective risk social dilemma; climate change mitigation; voluntary contribution; experiment; risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D71 D80 H41 Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-10-18
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-env and nep-exp
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Journal Article: Does risk communication really decrease cooperation in climate change mitigation? (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2017-014

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