What affects farmers' intention and behavior to mitigate the impact of climate change? Evidence from Hebei Province, China

Abstract

Greenhouse-gas induced global climate change impedes the sustainable development of humanity. Considerable research has focused on the intention of farmers to adapt to climate change, but few articles have explored farmers' intention and behavior to mitigate the impact of climate change. This paper extends protection motivation theory to develop an innovative theoretical framework that describes both farmers' intention and behavior to ameliorate the impact of climate change. Research data from 846 farmers of a major Chinese grain-producing province are empirically analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings indicate that farmers' intention to mitigate the impact of climate change is positively impacted by perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, self-efficacy, policy incentives, market incentives, and information publicity, while response cost negatively affects their intention. Farmers' mitigation behavior is positively and significantly influenced by market incentives, information publicity, and intention to mitigate the impact of climate change. Additionally, the information publicity lowers the influence of perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, and policy incentives on farmers' mitigation intention, while it reinforces the impact of response costs on farmers' intention. This research helps policymakers to better understand farmers' intention and behavior to mitigate the impact of climate change. Such knowledge, in turn, can help global policymakers, especially those in developing nations, to effectively encourage farmers to adopt practices relevant for mitigating the impact of climate change.