Research on the impact of public climate policy cognition on low-carbon travel based on SOR theory—Evidence from China

Public low-carbon travel is of great significance for achieving carbon neutrality and mitigating climate change. Therefore, taking the Chinese public as the research object, this paper discusses the impact of public awareness of climate policy on low-carbon travel. First, based on stimulus-organism response (SOR) theory, this paper constructs a theoretical model to study the impact of public perception of climate policy on low-carbon travel. Then, environmental emotion is used as a mediating variable in the model. Finally, 419 respondents were selected for a questionnaire survey to collect data. It is found that public awareness of climate policy affects low-carbon travel by triggering environmental emotions. Positive environmental emotions have a significant positive impact on low-carbon travel, while negative environmental emotions have a significant negative impact on low-carbon travel. In addition, positive environmental emotions have a greater impact on low-carbon travel than negative environmental emotions. Based on the above conclusions, this paper puts forward the following specific suggestions: in-depth publicity of climate policy, cultivation of positive environmental sentiment, strengthening the public's responsibility to respond to climate change concerns, etc.