While elite rhetoric, particularly among radical right actors, has grown more adversarial, it remains unclear whether similar affective divisions have emerged among citizens.

Drawing on cross-national survey data from France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, and Poland, this talk will examine affective polarisation (AP) over climate change. Mirroring debates that pit stricter climate protection against economic prosperity, we will assess the mutual effect between citizens on either side of this divide and estimate AP across the full attitudinal spectrum.

Across countries, the findings reveal AP with a clear asymmetry: pro-climate citizens express in-group warmth and out-group coldness, whereas pro-growth citizens show little affective opposition and, in some cases, evaluate climate-oriented citizens more positively than their own group. Moreover, AP among pro-climate respondents is not associated with reduced political tolerance.

These findings suggest that mass affective polarisation over climate action is less entrenched than elite discourse implies.

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