The influence of COVID attitudes on environmental concern: a cross-national perspective

Past research on the influence of crisis on environmental attitudes shows an ambiguous picture. On the one hand, there is evidence of a short-term negative effect of economic factors on environmental attitudes, which is supported by the theory of affluence and the theory of postmaterialism. On the other hand, national studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic show a positive influence in terms of an increase in collective values and thus also environmental attitudes. This paper aims to investigate if this proposed positive effect of the pandemic found in some countries can be supported, since this has not been analyzed systematically through a cross-national point of view. For this purpose, the Values in Crisis dataset is used, which was collected in 18 countries at the beginning of the pandemic. The results indicate that influences of COVID attitudes affect environmental concerns differently across countries. There is support for a positive impact on environmental concerns across nations, but this cannot be concluded overall. The results are discussed in the context of their limitations and should provide the foundation for further research.