Resource Type: Social Science Research

A focus on individual actions can distract from the larger climate movement goal of system change. While many activists in the UK-based group Extinction Rebellion (XR) call for “system change,” what is missing is an understanding of what kind of system change is necessary—and how it might be achieved. XR activists still engage in personal pro-environmental behaviors, even though their political goals are aimed at systemic change, and the group continues to argue that blaming and shaming individuals is counterproductive. This article argues that accusations of hypocrisy (based on their personal choices of climate movement activists) are used to discredit, divide, and undermine the climate movement—and those accusations by opponents work, to some degree.

Climate organizers should keep their eye out for people who say they feel responsible to reduce emissions. This research shows that people who say they feel responsible to reduce climate change also say they intend to take future political actions. However, these people don’t necessarily say they took actions like these in the past. Americans who feel more climate responsible are more likely to say they would (A) “join a campaign to convince elected officials to take action to reduce global warming” and (B) support a presidential candidate who “strongly supports taking action to reduce global warming.” These feelings of responsibility did not predict someone claiming they had contacted a politician about global warming in the past 12 months, though.

Majorities of youth and young adults around the world are worried about climate change, report negative emotions related to the issue, and find government responses inadequate. In this study, youth or young adults were considered aged 16-25. 59% are very or extremely worried and 84% are at least moderately worried. More than 50% said they feel sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless, and guilty. More than 45% said their feelings about climate change negatively affected their daily life and functioning, and many reported a high number of negative thoughts about climate—for example, 75% said that they think the future is frightening, and 83% said that they think people have failed to take care of the planet). Further, most rated governmental responses to climate change negatively and reported greater feelings of betrayal than of reassurance.