Emotional Drivers of Climate Action in Taiwan: Implications for Lifelong and Adult Climate Change Education

• In Event: Emotions, identities, and engagement in climate change education

Abstract

When facing the climate crisis, individuals’ emotional responses may become a driving force for action. This study focused on Taiwanese adults aged 18 to 75 and examined how positive emotions toward nature, climate-related hope and negative emotions (anxiety and anger) influence climate action. Based on path analysis of 437 survey responses, the results indicated that all three emotional variables positively predicted climate action and had greater predictive power than knowledge and risk perception related to climate change. While knowledge remains important, the findings suggest that emotions are a more critical driver of adult engagement in climate action. The study calls for adult and lifelong climate change education to place greater emphasis on cultivating emotional literacy to empower citizens’ climate agency.

Authors

• Yu-Chi Tseng, National Taiwan Normal University

• Yen-Chun Ross Lin, National Taiwan Normal University