Are German Tourists Environmental Chameleons? A Microeconometric Analysis of Adaptation to Climate Change

This paper empirically analyzes the determinants of individual tourism-related adaptation to climate change, i.e. the stated choice of alternative travel destina-tions due to increasing temperatures in the future. By examining the tourism sector, our study investigates an industry which was not extensively considered in economic analyses of climate change so far in spite of its worldwide huge eco-nomic relevance and strong sensitivity to global warming. Our empirical analysis on the basis of unique representative data from 5370 German tourists first re-veals a non-negligible extent of tourism-related adaptation to climate change in the amount of more than 22% of the respondents. Our micro-econometric analysis with binary probit models implies strong positive effects of a high awareness of climate change effects, increasing age as indicator for vulnerability of climate change, as well as a high adaptive capacity (measured by disposable financial resources) on this type of adaptation. The estimation results suggest no single significant effect of a high educational level or a high level of information on ad-aptation to climate change, but a positive interaction effect (which was, in con-trast to former studies, estimated according to Ai and Norton 2003 and Norton et al. 2004). Our empirical results underline several challenges for the tourism in-dustry and policy makers in order to transform the tourism infrastructure and to diversify holiday offers. They additionally reveal important focus groups of tour-ists such as (the increasing group of) elderly persons who are crucial for the de-velopment of successful future product strategies in the tourism sector

Offset carbon emissions or pay a price premium for avoiding them? A cross-country analysis of motives for climate protection activities

This paper contributes to the economic literature on pure and impure public goods by considering two alternatives for contributing to the public good climate protection: compensating carbon emissions from conventional consumption or paying higher prices for climate-friendly products. We analytically and empirically examine a wide range of motives and their impact on individuals’ choice in favor of these two alternatives. Relying on data from representative surveys among more than 2000 participants from Germany and the USA, our results indicate that environmental awareness, warm glow motives, and the desire to set a good example significantly motivate the choice of both climate protection activities in both countries. However, some motives differ considerably between both alternatives and countries. A green identity enhances the willingness to pay a price premium for climate-friendly goods or services in Germany, while social norms seem to be of much higher relevance in the USA. Our results further suggest that the choice of climate protection activities, especially of carbon offsetting, entails a high degree of uncertainty

Adaptation vs. climate protection: Responses to climate change and policy preferences of individuals in China, Germany, and the USA

This paper investigates the interrelation between adaptation and climate protection efforts of individuals in a cross-country comparison. The theoretical predictions based on a subjective utility framework demonstrate that, at the individual level, private adaptation and climate protection activities are determined by different factors and thus cannot be substitutes. Considering seven climate protection and four adaptation measures, these theoretical predictions are tested empirically using representative data from more than 3400 citizens in China, Germany, and the USA. The empirical findings are consistent with the theoretical predictions that the engagement in adaptation and climate protection activities tends to be positively related. While climate protection efforts seem to be mainly driven by their benefits (e.g., financial advantages or feelings of warm glow), adaptation activities are significantly influenced by a higher income and the individual evaluation of the risk that negative consequences from climate change occur. There is also some evidence that a perceived lack of public engagement in climate protection is compensated by increased private adaptation and climate protection efforts. Preferences for public adaptation and climate protection are significantly determined by individuals’ beliefs about the efforts of others, social norms, feelings of warm glow, and confidence in the effectiveness

Individuals' (re-)action in the face of global warming

Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF

Citizens' perceptions of justice in international climate policy: an empirical analysis

<div><p>Relying on a recent survey of more than 3400 participants from China, Germany, and the US, this article empirically analyses citizens' perceptions of key guiding principles for sharing mitigation costs across countries, justification of climate policy and trust in climate policy. Our findings suggest that the ranking of the main principles for burden-sharing is identical in China, Germany, and the US: accountability followed by capability, egalitarianism, and sovereignty. Thus, on a general level, citizens across these countries seem to have a common (normative) understanding of fairness. We therefore find no evidence that citizens' (stated) fairness preferences are detrimental to future burden-sharing agreements. In all three countries a majority of citizens considers international climate policy to be justified, but citizens' perceptions differ across specific items and countries. Finally, a substantial portion of citizens in all countries exhibit a lack of trust in international climate agreements.</p></div