Journal Article

Finding Common Climate Action Among Contested Worldviews: Stakeholder-Informed Approaches in Austria

Werdenigg, Andrea, Katzmair, Harald, Gulas, Christian, Skouge, Chase, Cambardella, Claire, Fath, Brian D.

2025

Overview

Our goal was to identify and understand perspectives of different stakeholders in the field of climate policy and test a process of co-creative policy development to support the implementation of climate protection measures. As the severity of climate change grows globally, perceptions of climate science and climate-based policy have become increasingly polarized. The one-solution consensus or compromise that has encapsulated environmental policymaking has proven insufficient or unable to address accurately or efficiently the climate issue. Because climate change is often described as a wicked problem (multiple causes, widespread impacts, uncertain outcomes, and an array of potential solutions), a clumsy solution that incorporates ideas and actions representative of varied and divergent worldviews is best suited to address it. This study used the Theory of Plural Rationality, which uses a two-dimensional spectrum to identify four interdependent worldviews as well as a fifth autonomous perspective to define the differing perspectives in the field of climate policy in Austria. Stakeholder inputs regarding general worldviews, climate change, and climate policy were evaluated to identify agreeable actions representative of the multiple perspectives. Thus, we developed and tested a co-creative process for developing clumsy solutions. This study concludes that while an ideological consensus is unlikely, agreement is more likely to occur on the practical level of concrete actions (albeit perhaps for different reasons). Findings suggested that creating an ecological tax reform was an acceptable policy action to diverse stakeholders. Furthermore, the study illuminated that the government is perceived to have the most potential influence on climate protection policy and acts as a key “broker”, or linkage, between other approaches that are perceived to be more actualized but less impactful.

• Publisher: MDPI AG
• Subject: Analysis / Climate action / Climate change / Climate policy / Climate science / Climatic changes / Environmental aspects / Environmental policy / Impact analysis / Laws, regulations and rules / Rationality / Social life & customs / Social network analysis / Social networks / Stakeholder theory / Tax reform