From perception to policy assessment: revealing socio-demographic biases in environmental decision-making

Climate policies are typically designed based on technical, economic, and institutional considerations. This study looks at how different social backgrounds shape the way people rank environmental priorities. Based on survey data from over 1500 people across Europe, we examine how gender, income, education, political beliefs, job roles, and regional identity influence these choices. We also revisit the WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) bias, originally used to critique psychology research, and explore how similar dynamics affect European environmental policy assessments. Our findings reveal that women, lower-income groups, and left-leaning respondents prioritize fairness and basic needs, while experts and wealthier individuals tend to focus on technical and long-term issues. These patterns suggest that policy decisions are never socially neutral and making environmental strategies more inclusive means recognizing these biases and designing processes that reflect the full diversity of public values.