Examining the relationship between climate concern, climate anxiety and climate action in the UK

The effects of climate change are being felt globally, resulting in increased extreme weather events and mental health challenges. Climate change concern and anxiety are widespread, especially among young people. Currently, little is known about how these responses to climate change may interact with each other to motivate or hinder different types of environmental action. This paper addresses this gap using two nationally representative surveys conducted in 2022 and 2023 in the UK (ntotal = 2,087). The results show that individuals concerned about climate change were significantly more likely to have climate anxiety and that climate anxiety is subsequently significantly associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in pro-environmental action, including private-sphere behaviours (individual actions relating to diet, transport, household energy, travel, and material consumption) and climate activism (collective actions, including supporting protests and community initiatives). When controlling for the effect of climate anxiety, climate concern was still associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in pro-environmental action, although the effect was smaller. These results suggest that climate anxiety partly explains the effects of climate concern and is an additional driver of climate action. Additionally, the results show that climate anxiety was higher among younger respondents, and that the likelihood of engaging in pro-environmental actions decreases as age increases. However, the effects of climate change concern and anxiety on climate action were consistent across respondents of different ages, with no moderating effects of age. Other factors may be responsible for decreased climate engagement among older age groups demonstrated in past literature.