CLIMATE NARRATIVES AND LOW-CARBON BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS AMONG CHINA’S ECOLOGICAL MIGRANTS: MECHANISMS OF INFLUENCE THROUGH CULTURAL CONTEXT AND VALUE PERCEPTIONS

Abstract

This study aims to explore how different climate narrative frames (impact/science/action/political) influence the willingness to adopt low-carbon behaviors among China's ecological migrants. Employing a simple random assignment design, 800 ecological migrants in Qinghai Province were recruited to participate in two experiments. The results show that the action frame is most effective in enhancing behavioral willingness, while the political frame has the weakest effect; cultural background showed no significant moderating effect on the framing effect, but value perception had a partial moderating effect. This study expands the moderating mechanism of the framing effect model in climate communication. Furthermore, it clarifies the differences in information acceptance and psychological mechanisms of ecological migrants as a special group in climate communication. The findings provide references for future research and practice on climate adaptation behaviors of ecological migrants.