European public support for climate mitigation measures is resilient to uncertainty information

European public support for climate mitigation measures is resilient to uncertainty information | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article European public support for climate mitigation measures is resilient to uncertainty information Valeria Sorgato, Morris Krainz, Tobias Brosch, Evelina Trutnevyte This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7534864/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Public acceptance is a critical factor for the successful implementation of climate mitigation measures. Yet, Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) often exclude this social dimension and risk misjudging the real-world viability of the mitigation measures they are designed to model. This study examines how informed perceptions of feasibility-related uncertainties affect acceptance, support, and affect in the general population towards four IAM-modelled measures: bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), green hydrogen, afforestation/reforestation, and sustainable diets. In a survey across six European countries (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the Netherlands; total N = 3,351), we found that providing uncertainty information lowered acceptance, support, and, to a lesser degree, affect, but all measures remained positively evaluated, and differences between measures and countries remained stable. Sustainable diets and BECCS were the least accepted, particularly in Poland and the Netherlands, where participants, on average, were opposed to sustainable diets. Higher perceived uncertainty, especially regarding social and technological feasibility, was negatively associated with acceptance and affect, an effect that strengthened after information, particularly for social uncertainty. Climate change beliefs emerged as the strongest predictor of acceptance among all predictive factors. Trust in scientists also contributed positively to acceptance of mitigation measures, while trust in government and sociodemographic variables showed marginal influence. Our findings underscore the importance of combining social factors with IAMs to better reflect real-world constraints and improve the design and communication of climate mitigation policies. Scientific Communication Environmental Policy acceptance uncertainty feasibility carbon dioxide removal climate change mitigation informed citizens integrated assessment models Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterialfinal.pdf Supplementary Material European public support for climate mitigation measures is resilient to uncertainty information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7534864","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":510169657,"identity":"abf90132-b6a3-41e4-8652-2d2f72f4bb09","order_by":0,"name":"Valeria 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