Public support for climate change mitigation is lower in nations with high fossil fuel reliance

Fossil fuel reliant countries contribute disproportionately to climate change, yet little isknown about how nations’ fossil fuel reliance is associated with public support for climatechange mitigation. A cross-national study (N = 102,824) across 106 countries and sixcontinents showed that citizens of nations with greater fossil fuel reliance were less likely tobelieve that climate change should be a priority for their government, more supportive ofcontinued fossil fuel use, and less supportive of increased renewable energy use. Climatedenial and lower worry about climate change mediated the associations between nations'fossil fuel reliance and citizens' mitigation support, while economic concerns aboutmitigation did not mediate these relationships. These findings show that fossil fuel reliance islinked to reduced climate policy support. This suggests that fossil fuel interests may shapepublic opinion and underscores the need for a transition that acknowledges citizens’ concernsabout phasing out fossil fuels.