Predictors of New Zealanders’ Belief in Anthropogenic Climate Change

While there is a scientific consensus that climate change is happening and that it is predominantly caused by human activity, public opinion on this issue remains divided. When people do not accept that climate change is caused by human activity, they may be less likely to adopt climate mitigation behaviours and less willing to accept climate change related policies. It is therefore important to understand the predictors of people’s beliefs about climate change. In this study, we examine the predictors of belief in anthropogenic climate change in a large, broadly representative sample of the New Zealand population (N = 8,199). We found that pro-environmental attitude was—by far—the strongest predictor of belief in anthropogenic climate change. People who expressed more positive environmental attitudes (i.e., who more strongly endorsed ecocentrism) were more likely to believe in anthropogenic climate change, compared with people who more strongly endorsed anthropocentrism. Age was the strongest socio-demographic predictor of climate change belief, with younger New Zealanders expressing a stronger belief in climate change. We also found that females were more likely to believe in anthropogenic climate change compared with men, and that this relationship was partially explained by gender differences in the endorsement of self-transcendence and tradition values. We discuss the implications of our findings for climate science communication and climate action in Aotearoa New Zealand.