“I am worried about the climate and ecological emergency”: The role of emotions on policy support and environmental advocacy

Research indicated that emotions experienced in relation to the climate crisis are important predictors of environmental attitudes and behaviours. However, the affective milieu is changing rapidly over the years along with the change in societal appraisal. Thus, more research is required to identify the relevant emotional drives and their contextual impact on governance scenarios.Here we presented respondents with three sets of proposed United Kingdom policies which differ by their extent of reformative aspiration. In a cross-sectional online web survey, respondents (n=260) rated their support (or opposition) for the Conservative Government’s manifesto, the Climate and Ecology Bill (CEE Bill) and the Green New Deal.We asked if distinct emotions linked to the emergency predict the type of policy support, if policy support mediates the relationship between emotions and active engagement (i.e., number of advocacy actions), and if the degree of engagement predicts the type of policy support.Using a combination of linear mixed models and mediation analysis, we found that respondents who reported higher levels of anxiety and worry were generally more prone to support environmental policies. Only respondents who reported the greatest intensity of disappointment were more likely to support the CEE bill. The support expressed for the CEE policies mediated the relationship between active engagement and both worry and disappointment, respectively. Finally, greater active engagement accounted for greater CEE bill support.Our findings dovetail with previous literature and provide new insights into the analysis of the complex relationship between emotions, policy support, and environmental advocacy.