The influence of environmental attitudes and behaviour in encouraging public acceptance of protestor violence towards the oil and gas sector in Canada

Purpose This study aims to address the gap in current knowledge on the social acceptance of political violence against, or in response to, the Canadian oil and gas industry. Specifically, this research sought to determine if environmental attitudes and behaviours can be predictors for support of various degrees of violent pro-environmental protest. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour and Oreg and Katz-Gerro’s model for predicting pro-environmental behaviour, the study examines data from a survey of 409 Canadians and uses step-wise regression to measure the association of predictors linking environmental attitudes with support for protester violence. Findings Findings suggest that personal willingness to sacrifice for the environment and a perception of environmental threat and concern are primary predictors linking environmental attitudes with support for protester violence. The study also identifies contextual factors such as age, activism history and police response tactics as influential. Practical implications The research contributes to understanding the complexities of environmental conflict and its implications for energy security policy. The results suggest that policies which encourage environmental sensitivity and commitment may be encouraging greater levels of activism and potentially violence against oil and gas companies. Originality/value While there exists research on the level of acceptance behind modern political violence in general, particularly against government in a broad sense, there is a noticeable absence of available literature on the risks of such political violence as it pertains specifically to oil and gas development and infrastructure in Canada.