Conference Agenda

Whilst the overwhelming majority of scientists concur that climate change poses a severe threat to our future, and is already impacting daily life in some regions, opponents of this viewpoint regularly voice counter-narratives in the public sphere, media, and political arenas. These counter-narratives often include allegations of bias among scientists, such as overextending conclusions, selectively publishing findings to support specific agendas, or accepting bribes to produce results favourable to certain political decisions. Despite such behaviour being considered unethical within the scientific community, a few cases of fabricated research have been noted in recent years, alongside the replication crisis in social sciences. These instances, though exceptional, might have eroded the perceived value of scientific consensus on the dangers of climate change. Therefore, we hypothesised that individuals endorsing conspiracy theories about scientists would exhibit less worry about climate change and feel less personal responsibility for reducing it. We also posited that individuals endorsing conspiracy theories about scientists would be more likely to believe that climate change is a natural phenomenon, not human-caused, or would be more likely to deny climate change in general. Further, aligning with previous research, we explored whether the association between endorsing conspiracy theories about scientists and these three criteria varied with political orientation. To test the hypotheses, we analysed complete data from all participants across countries included in the tenth wave of the European Social Survey using multi-group structural equation modelling (MGSEM) with cluster-robust standard errors (with countries as clusters). The results confirmed that individuals with a greater tendency to endorse conspiracy theories about scientists were also slightly less worried about climate change and felt less personally responsible for its reduction, even after controlling for sex, age, education, and economic status. In general, stronger endorsement of conspiracy theories about scientists was linked to a higher likelihood of climate change denial (rather than attributing climate change to natural or human causes). However, the relationship between endorsing conspiracy theories on scientists and attributing climate change to natural or human activity was less consistent. Additionally, the moderating role of political orientation was evident solely for the belief in climate change: among strong left- or right-leaning individuals, the relationship between disbelief in climate change and the endorsement of conspiracy theories about scientists was stronger compared to politically moderate participants. This suggests a non-linear relationship where endorsement of conspiracy theories on scientists at both the left and the right extremes leads to a greater likelihood of disbelieving in climate change.

Background and Research Objectives: Europe presents a mosaic of attitudes towards climate change, influenced by diverse socio-political, cultural, and economic factors. This study aims to analyze and compare climate change attitudes across Europe's regions, as well as explore their underlying determinants at the macro and micro level, such as economic conditions, trust in institutions, and individual socio-demographic and psychological factors.

Methods: Utilizing data from Round 10 of the European Social Survey, national averages were calculated for climate change attitudes across three European regions (Northern and Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, and Southern Europe). Cross-regional variations in climate attitudes were assessed using ANOVAs and Tukey's HSD tests. Stepwise multiple linear regressions were employed to illuminate the determinants of cross-national variations in climate beliefs. At the individual level, multi-level models were used to predict climate engagement and attitudes based on socio-demographic, political, and psychological factors, accounting for the hierarchical data structure and inter-country variations.

Results: Central and Eastern Europe exhibited markedly lower climate engagement than the rest of Europe, characterized by a lower belief in anthropogenic climate change and lower levels of personal responsibility towards its mitigation. Concern about climate change was similar across Europe. A pronounced "post-communist effect" emerged, suggesting these attitudes remain deeply influenced by historical and cultural legacies rather than solely current economic or social factors. The regression analyses further identified predictors of climate attitudes at the national level, including greenhouse gas emissions, income inequality, unemployment, and trust in scientists. At the individual level, the study reaffirms that being young, female, university-educated and politically engaged is linked to higher climate engagement across Europe. However, other determinants differed significantly across regions. In NW Europe, institutional trust, urban residency, economic security and left-liberal values were key predictors of climate engagement, while in Southern Europe, engagement is particularly high among rural residents. In CE Europe, climate attitudes continue to be less polarized and politicized. Collectively, these results underscore the distinct economic and socio-political predictors of climate attitudes across Europe, paving the way for tailored and more effective policy interventions.

As the importance of environmental sustainability and well-being has risen on the global agenda, so has the interest in understanding the intricate relationships between them. The conceptual framework underlying this association rests upon the field of economics of happiness - a discipline that stresses the broadening of traditional economic analyses by accounting for more holistic measures of utility, encompassing non-income related facets that influence individual well-being. This paradigm acknowledges that the relentless pursuit of GDP growth can sometimes overshadow detrimental societal implications, particularly environmental degradation and increasing disparities.

Well-being, a complex and multifaceted term, captures the essence of human existence, binding together strands of happiness, quality of life, human development, and welfare. Researchers and policymakers have increasingly acknowledged the role of well-being in influencing climate change mitigation strategies. While the present paradigm of climate change mitigation pivots around temperature goals and emission constraints, the intersections of human needs, quality of life, and resource utilization within societies have yet to be thoroughly integrated. Well-being should be a pillar in climate change mitigation research, offering invaluable insights into creating equitable, just, and sustainable pathways to a low-carbon future.

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of how environmental factors, particularly those associated with climate change, impact human well-being and happiness. The paper delves into the evolving paradigm of the economics of happiness, emphasizing the need to consider non-income facets of utility, such as environmental quality, in understanding individual well-being. It explores the role of well-being in climate change mitigation strategies and highlights the importance of nature connectedness for subjective well-being (SWB).

The study employs an econometric approach, using data from the European Social Survey, to understand the complex interplay between environmental factors and SWB across different European countries. It considers a variety of environmental indicators, such as air quality, climate extremes, and nature connectedness, alongside socio-economic and demographic controls. The research findings underscore the significant impact of environmental quality on happiness levels, reinforcing the importance of sustainable behaviors and policies for enhancing well-being.

The paper contributes to the broader dialogue on sustainable development and well-being, advocating for 'beyond GDP' indicators that incorporate environmental and social considerations into measures of societal progress. It presents a compelling case for a paradigm shift in policy-making and research, emphasizing the integration of environmental factors into the understanding of human happiness and the development of effective climate change mitigation strategies.

Topic (1) Digital inequalities and individuals

The ongoing digital transformation is one of the major contemporary challenges that unevenly impact the life chances of social classes and the well being of individuals. The decline of the working class forced by the “skill based technological change” (Oesch 2022) gives additional arguments for looking from a class perspective at the impact of digitalization on individuals’ chances for participation in adult education. Researchers of digital inequalities point to the need to study beside equality of opportunities, also equality of the outcome and wellbeing, taking into account that individuals may face different obstacles in utilizing the opportunities they have (Helsper 2021). In later decades, the intersections between social class and gender are accorded greater attention, revealing considerable inequalities around participation in lifelong education (Macleod & Lambe, 2007; Shildrick & MacDonald, 2007, Robinson et al., 2015,Slavova, Stoilova 2024).

Against this background, we investigate the effects of occupational class and gender regarding the participation in adult education measured by taking additional courses during the last 12 months, applying micro-macro-approach. We account for individual level characteristics - occupational class and gender. At macro level we measure digitalization by the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). Higher DESI index at macro level possibly has a positive association with, and contributes to higher participation in additional training. However, we want to explore, if DESI higher scores lead also to a decrease of inequalities based on class and gender before and after Covid-19 pandemic. We ask also the question, how the use of digital technologies affects people's well-being.Previous research pointed to the importance of participation in non-formal adult education for individual subjective well-being (Boyadjieva, Ilieva-Trichkova 2022). We test if using internet contributes to wellbeing, especially of people in their late careers (50+).

The empirical basis of the study is data from the European Social Survey (ESS), Rounds 9 and10 (2018 and 2021). These data are limited to those aged 25-64 to account for the group of adults (e.g. European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2021) and are analysed via descriptive statistics and multilevel regression modelling (Rabe-Hesketh & Skrondal 2012).

Our preliminary results show that digital performance in a given country is positively associated with the probability for participation in adult education. This association is weaker in 2021 in comparison with 2018. The results also show that women in countries with higher level of digital performance are more likely to participate in adult education. We found evidence for a positive interaction between DESI and the lower-grade service class for women, whereas in the case of men we found positive interaction terms between DESI and small business owners, skilled workers and unskilled workers. Overall, our findings highlight the moderating effect of the digital performance in a given country and class and gender regarding participation in adult education but not on age after but not before Covid-19.

Is there any possibility that economic recessions affect European citizens’ attitudes towards environmental preferences and behaviour? Is this effect driven also by gender? The aim of this work is to look at the attitudes of the European citizens towards environmental protection, which is important at both individual and country level. Well-knowing the existent literature on the link between pro-environmental behaviour and economic affluence of countries, it is hypothesized that the economic well-being is an important driver in deciding of the caring for nature. In particular, this work focuses on the formation of preferences towards the environment on those generations who have experienced, during the critical years of adolescence and early adulthood, the Great Recession, a strong macroeconomic shock. In fact, consistent with the theories of social psychology, the experience of a large macroeconomic shock during the so-called impressionable years (18-25 years old) has an effect on shaping strong and persistent preferences for redistribution, with respect to individuals in other age ranges who tend not to change beliefs in response to macroeconomic shocks. Similarly, the effect on environment should be to have treated individuals with more other-regarding preferences, with respect to the control group. To identify these effects, with an empirical analysis within and between European countries, will be used a cross-sectional survey dataset of 7 waves from the European Social Survey. In this way, it is possible also to understand the persistent effects and the gender implications in looking at environmental preferences and attitudes.

There is a growing need for producing estimates for geographical areas in order to support policy makers in different fields. However, due to small sample sizes, direct estimators are unstable, producing a large variance. This is the case faced in the vast majority of countries in the European Social Survey (ESS); indeed, the ESS is not designed to produce reliable estimates and analyses at the sub-national level. Therefore, small area estimation methods, e.g., by using statistical models, are traditionally used to produce reliable estimates of different target parameters, such as means, counts, quantiles or ratios for small population domains. These approaches are evaluated and applied by different National Statistical Institutes for a large variety of areas, e.g., labour market, business or environmental statistics.

In recent years, there has been an important focus on addressing climate change within the international community. The European Union (EU) has taken actions in leading efforts to combat climate change, demonstrating its commitment by implementing ambitious measures.

The attention to climate change is not limited to political discussions only; it has permeated public awareness. The issue has garnered considerable attention from the international media, sparking public debates on the matter. In this work, we focus on attitudes towards climate change at regional level in Europe. We aim to produce regional estimates of an attitudes towards climate change indicator for European regions. In order to do this, we will adopt a Fay-Herriot area level model by including auxiliary information from Official Statistics data archives, and non-traditional data sources obtained by web scraping. The use of web scraped data will be able to add additional spatial information to the area level modes, hence, improve the regional estimates.

We will also discuss issues related to using non-traditional data sources in small area estimation based on the ESS, which is a new and important methodological topics in the field. This project is an example of how survey data and estimation can be supported by non-traditional data sources, measuring aspects of the society not elsewhere considered.