Climate risk perception as a catalyst for pro-environmental behavior

Pro-environmental behavior is crucial for protecting the environment, reducing the greenhouse gas emissions, preventing the depletion of natural resources, and mitigating climate change. This study aims to examine the drivers of pro-environmental behavior and answer the research question whether climate risk perception positively affects the behavior. It uses a nationally representative data collected in 2022 among the urban residents in Belarus aged 18–75. The study employs an instrumental variable approach to overcome endogeneity of the main explanatory variable of interest, namely climate risk perception. Additionally, the study uses propensity score matching as a robustness check of the results. The findings show that climate risk perception has a strong positive impact on pro-environmental behavior. The index of pro-environmental behavior for individuals, who start perceiving climate change as a risk, increases by 2.935 points, i.e. that they adopt one more pro-environmental activity in their life. Other relevant determinants of pro-environmental behavior among the consumers in Belarus include self-efficacy, group activities, age and income. From a policy perspective, the results underscore the necessity to promote awareness about climate change risks among the population and integrate environmental activities performed in groups into educational curricula at different levels.