Beliefs about Climate Change and Their Relationship with Environmental Beliefs and Sustainable Behavior: A View from Rural Communities

Harmony with nature: Disentanglement the influence of ecological perception and adaptation on sustainable development and circular economy goals in country

From the perspective of ecosystem attributes, this research was conducted to explore the impact of people's adaptation and response to their perception of environmental risks on their preference for sustainable development strategies and the realization of a circular economy based on Social Judgment Theory and the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory. To achieve the goal, three substudies were conducted using questionnaire surveys-the first substudy aimed to examine the influence of ecological attributes on environmental risk perception (ERP). The second substudy attempted to understand the intricate connection between ERP and justice, while the third study explored the relationship between justice and SDS (sustainable development strategies) and CEG (realization of a circular economy). The results indicate the following: (1) The first substudy reveals that ecological attributes impact environmental risk perception (ERP), with different environmental values exerting distinct influences. (2) The second substudy suggests that ERP facilitates the realization of social, environmental, and ecological justice, but people's preference for a specific economic growth strategy will affect their tendency to realize justice. (3) The third substudy shows that sustainability strategies (i.e., sustainable production, consumption, and use) mediate the relationship between justice and circular economy goals (CEG). Among the three strategies, sustainable use plays the most significant mediating role. The research outcomes underscore the importance of prioritizing sustainable use in future research in theory and practice.

Impact of the Energy Sector on the Quality of the Environment in the Opinion of Energy Consumers from Southeastern Poland

Limiting CO2 emissions has been adopted as a contemporary challenge and introduced into numerous global and regional policies. The measures taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions largely relate to the decarbonization of the economy. Changes in the Polish energy sector are a huge challenge because the energy mix is dominated by the energy derived from coal combustion. Decarbonizing the energy sector will require significant financial resources. Therefore, several questions arise: What is the social attitude to the planned changes? How do residents treat the issue of greenhouse gases? Do they perceive the relationship between energy production and the quality of the natural environment? What are their expectations regarding the transformation of the energy sector? The aim of this study was to identify the opinion of the inhabitants of southeastern Poland on changes in the energy sector and its impact on the quality of the natural environment. The study was conducted at the turn of 2020 and 2021. The survey was partial and carried out using the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview) method; 1539 questionnaire forms were filled in and the sample was randomly selected. The study confirms the following research hypotheses: 1. There is social support for the view that climate change is currently one of the greatest threats to modern civilization. 2. There is a social belief that the quality of the natural environment in southeastern Poland is good compared to other regions of Poland and Europe. 3. Increasing the share of energy based on renewable energy sources is socially expected. 4. There is a social expectation of nuclear energy. It can therefore be concluded that the surveyed community accepts the direction of changes in the energy sector.