Time’s Up? How Temporal Maps of Climate Change Shape Climate Action

Abstract

We track how temporal mappings of climate change relate to individuals’ actions to address the climate crisis. We consider multiple aspects of temporal maps and so make two innovations over the literature to date. First, we examine how individuals coordinate their actions across both their own expectations of the future (first-order futures) and their sense of others’ expectations (second-order futures). Second, we examine past effects of climate change, as well as the turning points past which respondents believe climate change can no longer be addressed. We show how both everyday actions, such as recycling, and political behaviors, such as protesting, are coordinated across these temporal maps, conceptualized as beliefs about past, present, and future, and the turning points across them. A core finding is that individuals’ own concern about the climate future is associated with increased climate action, whereas believing others to be concerned depreciates individuals’ own climate action. This study is therefore a conceptual contribution to understanding action and temporality, while also providing empirical insight into how individuals navigate the climate crisis.