(Not) all in this together? Viewing climate change as a question of (in)justice rather than common fate increases collective action

Even among people who agree on the existence and urgency of the climate crisis, different understandings of its causes and consequences prevail. Climate change can be understood primarily as a question of injustice, stressing its unequal effects on privileged and vulnerable individuals and groups, but it can also be conceptualized as a common fate, stressing the vulnerability of humanity as a whole. Across four studies (total N = 1,402), with activists and general population samples from Germany, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom, we investigated how these different understandings might affect participation in political activism against climate change. In line with our predictions, we consistently found that climate injustice appraisals (at the individual, group, and systemic level) positively predicted collective action intentions whereas common fate perceptions showed no or negative effects. We discuss the implications of our findings for researchers and climate movements, particularly the importance of centering climate (in)justice in mobilizing climate action and the potentially demobilizing effects of common fate narratives. • Climate change can be framed in different ways • One way is to center injustices in responsibility and vulnerability between individuals and groups • Another is to view it as a common fate shared by humanity as a whole • Injustice appraisals around climate change are linked to higher collective action intentions • Common fate perceptions of climate change are linked to lower collective action intentions