Time Preference and Intergenerational Climate Responsibility: Evidence from a Large-Scale Online Experiment in China

This study investigates the relationship between individual time preferences and intergenerational attitudes toward climate change. We conduct a large-scale online experiment in China (N = 965) using an incentivized multiple price list task to elicit time preferences, and measure climate attitudes through a 14-item scale capturing perceived threat, scientific knowledge, policy support, and intergenerational responsibility. We find that more impatient individuals are significantly less willing to assume responsibility for climate change on behalf of future generations and report lower willingness to engage in mitigation actions. These associations survive Bonferroni multiple testing correction and are robust to alternative specifications. Importantly, impatience is not associated with perceived climate threat or scientific knowledge about climate change, suggesting that time preferences shape action-oriented and intergenerational dimensions of climate attitudes specifically, rather than climate beliefs in general. ​​​​In addition, we find no evidence that future-oriented framing exercises (Imaginary Trip to the Future, Future Ahead and Back, Letter to Future Generations) shift climate attitudes. This study contributes cross-cultural evidence on the psychological underpinnings of climate inaction but highlights the need for future research linking elicited preferences to actual behavior.