Green European : Environmental Behaviour and Attitudes in Europe in a Historical and Cross-Cultural Comparative Perspective

This is the first book to give an up-to-date overview on environmental attitudes and perceptions based on different data sources, especially the International Social Survey Programme for a European context. By so doing, the book covers a variety of data driven comparative studies. The development of environmental attitudes, risk perceptions and patterns of environmental behaviour helps to shed light on what can be understood as European type(s) of environmentalism. The book delivers a much needed references book to European environmentalism not available thus far.

Green European addresses the quest for a better understanding of European type(s) of environmentalism. This monograph focuses on public attitudes and behaviours and the culturally rooted as well as country specific differences. The book addresses the wider issue that many European countries are rendered ‘green’ or as having an advanced environmental awareness, but the question - ‘how green are Green Europeans really’, is yet to be answered.

The book covers a variety of unique data-driven comparative studies and is divided into three parts:

• the first addresses perceptions of environmental and technological threats and risks,
• the second part deals with environmental activism in Europe,
• the third discusses environmental attitudes, environmental concerns and their imminent link to personal pro-environmental behaviour.

The empirical comparative nature of the contributions is enabled by data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP).