ATTITUDES OF THE HUNGARIAN RURAL POPULATION AND FARMERS TOWARD THE ISSUE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Deák, Zsuzsanna

Keywords: climate change, rural, farmers, attitudes, values JEL: Q01, Q54, R58

This study analyses data from the European Social Survey's latest Wave 10 (Democracy, Digital Social Contacts) to identify differences in the perceptions of climate change between farmers and non-farmers and rural and urban residents in Hungary. A particularly important question was how the positioning of the respondents on Schwartz's value scale influences their answers to the climate questions. Are altruistic, egoistic, or hedonistic values the primary driving forces behind climate attitudes?
A significant difference is found between rural and urban residents in terms of personal responsibility for climate change, as the urban population feels more responsible for mitigating climate change than their rural counterparts. The same difference is not observed in the sense of concern about climate change. In contrast, those active in the agricultural sector feel less personally responsible than those working in other sectors. Older people and men are less likely to feel responsible for reducing the effects of climate change. Those with higher education, those living in urban areas, and those with religious interests feel a greater responsibility. Political views influence the relationships between sense of responsibility and gender, people working in agriculture, and belief in science. The same groups and those on the left of the political scale are also more concerned about climate change. However, climate worry is unrelated to age, and men are less worried about climate change than women. Respondents who prioritize personal pleasure are less likely to feel responsible for reducing the effects of climate change, while altruistic respondents are much more concerned about it. When comparing the value scales, hedonistic values proved to be much more pronounced among both rural residents and agricultural workers.
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