Christian Andreas Klöckner , Michael Brenner-Fliesser , Giuseppe Carrus , Eugenio De Gregorio , Löfström Erica, Ruzica Luketina , Anni Niemi , Hanna Pihkola, Stephan Schwarzinger, Lassi Similä, Laura Sokka

This paper takes a multi-perspective approach to understand drivers and barriers of climate action on the neighbourhood level in a selection of European neighbourhoods. The starting point for the analysis is the assumption that actions on the level of citizens to protect the climate are most motivating and promising, when conducted jointly within established social systems like neighbourhoods. The aim of this paper therefore is to identify most relevant factors that are associated with climate actions of individuals on the neighbourhood level. To do so, the paper outlines the multiple perspectives chosen for the analysis of drivers and barriers on the individual, collective, cultural, and socio-structural level. Based on this, a survey was designed to measure these aspects and implemented in nine European neighbourhoods (3 in Austria, 2 in Norway, 2 in Italy, 2 in Finland). The neighbourhoods were partly in rural communities (4) and partly in urban or semi-urban areas (5). In total, 1.084 answers were retained between summer 2022 and summer 2023. The impact of factors from the different perspectives on the self-reported number of implemented climate actions were tested in a structured, regression-based approach. The analyses show that intentions to act both on the individual and collective level impact the number of climate actions implemented by citizens living in the neighbourhood, but individual intentions are more important. In addition, local cultural aspects have an impact on climate action. Individual intentions to act are slightly less important in rural, than in semi/urban neighbourhoods. On the socio-structural level, males and households with younger children report fewer climate actions, whereas larger households in general and people with university degree report more. Intentions to act individually are mostly determined by perceived individual efficacy and attitudes, but also selected cultural and socio-structural factors. Collective intentions to act depend on the social capital in the neighbourhood and social norms, as well as selected socio-structural and cultural factors. Concluding, this paper emphasises that in order to understand, implement (and increase) the climate-related actions of citizens efficient, the individual, collective, cultural and socio-structural factors must be taken into account and that the level of neighbourhoods, where everyday action takes place, is a relevant unit of analysis to do so.