Climate change policy support, intended behaviour change, and their drivers largely unaffected by consensus messages in Germany

How can communication contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through behaviour change and policy support? The existing literature emphasises informing people about the scientific consensus on climate change, but underlying research has been conducted mainly in US, where prior beliefs human-made are lower than many other countries with highest per-capita emissions. We test messages an ‘extended gateway belief model’ using a pre-registered survey experiment representative quota sample of German population (N = 1171). Our data show that likely have no or only minimal effects perceived agreement, intended support. Still, line research, we find science, efficacy beliefs, worry predict support change. These results demonstrate effective needs tailoring its local context.