National Appraisals Speak Louder for Attitudes than for Intentions: Distal and Proximate Risk–Benefit Perceptions of Climate Change in China

Risk perception has long been treated as a key driver of public climate attitudes and climate-friendly behaviors. Although prior studies have reported relatively modest levels of perceived personal climate threat among the Chinese public, they have also found strong recognition of anthropogenic climate change and solid support for climate policies. However, it remains unclear whether the relatively modest perceived threat to personal climate among Chinese respondents is associated with a lower willingness to engage in climate-friendly behaviors. To address this question, this study extended the multi-level risk and benefit framework to investigate how personal, societal, and national risk and benefit perceptions, and their associations with climate attitudes and behavioral willingness, were perceived via a national survey of Chinese respondents (N = 1500). Empirical analyses, however, show that personal and societal appraisals are not clearly distinguishable, whereas national-level appraisals form a distinct dimension. Regression results further indicate a systematic divergence in predictive patterns across appraisal domains. National-level appraisals are more strongly associated with climate attitudes, whereas proximate appraisals, particularly perceived personal benefits, are more closely related to behavioral willingness. While explaining the apparent paradox of relatively low perceived personal climate risk but comparatively strong climate attitudes in China, these findings extend research on the attitude–behavior gap by suggesting that national-level and proximate appraisals may play different roles in relation to climate-related attitudes and behavioral intentions in contexts characterized by strong state involvement in climate governance.