Seminar by Anna Castiglione: The Psychological Underpinnings of Collective Climate Action

While many people recognize the risks posed by anthropogenic climate collapse, only few engage in collective actions such as advocacy, activism, civic participation, or climate education. This talk examines the psychological drivers of collective climate action among young adults in the context of the escalating climate crisis. Drawing on a systematic review of 305 studies and multiple registered longitudinal studies conducted with university students in Italy and the Netherlands, my Ph.D research investigated how a dozen psychological factors (including but not limited to climate risk perception) shape collective climate engagement. Results show that awareness and concern about the climate crisis are important but insufficient on their own to promote action. Instead, collective engagement is more strongly associated with factors such as collective efficacy and the belief that societal transformation can emerge from grassroots mobilization (a bottom-up theory of change). The findings contribute to understanding how to bridge the gap between climate risk perception and collective climate action.