Not really concerned? Populist radical right voters and climate change

Despite the increasing attention to the relationship between populist radical right (PRR) parties and environmental issues, we still know little about the demand-side of the phenomenon. Are PRR voters less concerned about climate change than the others? If so, what moderates the relationship? We address these questions using recent European Social Survey data (2020–22) from 22 EU-OECD countries. The analysis indicates three main findings. First, PRR voters are clearly less concerned about climate change. Second, this negative correlation holds regardless of several socio-demographic controls. Third, the results highlight the importance of contextual-political factors. Most notably, the gap in climate change attitudes between PRR voters and the others is higher in the countries where PRR parties are more against environmental protection, where the salience of environmental sustainability is higher for both PRR parties and the party system as a whole, and where Green Parties are electorally stronger.