Culture-augmented income effects on climate change adaptability: a robust panel data modelling

Abstract This study examines how national culture shapes the income-driven adaptation to climate change. The area of how culture could explain cultural adaptability towards country-level climate change in the current literature is underexplored. Using the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) framework, this study investigates the influence of household lifestyle and consumption patterns on climate change adaptability across different cultural societies worldwide. Fifty-three countries were probed to determine how the cultural differences of each country define household consumption patterns linked to climate change adaptability. The findings show that cultural orientation does condition income-driven adaptability while controlling for clean energy transition and carbon intensity for institutions. This study integrates the EKC with climate adaptation, showing that non-sustainable income practices are motivated through cultural differences.