Are climate change perceptions related with plastic policy support? Effects of climate change skepticism, guilt, and efficacy on the acceptance of the plastic tax

PLOS One | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0337327 December 29, 2025 8 / 30 manage them [80]. Many studies have analyzed trust in the context of risk object, that is, nuclear acceptance [44,79,81]. Positive trust reduces risk perception and increases acceptance, which emphasizes the need for trust management. Visschers et al. [72] found that trust in the utility and government in nuclear power operations influenced the acceptance of nuclear power before and after the Fukushima nuclear accident. In this study, we believe that trust in the government is particularly important in the context of climate change policy, and reasons for distrust include a lack of confidence in the government’s ability to manage nuclear energy, perceived unfairness, or a perception that the government does not share their values. In this study, trust in government“ construct specifically measures confidence in government capability and effective- ness to address climate change, rather than belief alignment. As Poortinga et al. [36] distinguish, this represents “compe- tence trust” rather than “value similarity trust.” Our items assess whether respondents believe the government’s climate goals are achievable and whether the government is effectively addressing climate change. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed Hypothesis 7. Increased trust in government regarding climate change will increase acceptance of the plastic tax. Emotions. Emotions can be defined as good or bad feelings toward external stimuli. In particular, emotions are

highlighted in relation to nuclear energy, emphasizing the inability of rational and reasonable judgment to operate [82]. Emotions are expressed as feelings, sentiments, and stigmas, and in nuclear research, they can be understood as the negative images that people have of nuclear power plants and nuclear containment centers [83]. Huijts et al. [84] confirmed that emotions were determinants of the attitude toward energy. Visschers et al. [72] confirmed that positive feelings in the affective dimension positively affected the acceptance of nuclear energy by lowering risk perception and increasing benefit perception. Kim et al. [74] confirmed that negative emotions had a significant impact on nuclear energy acceptance. Lim et al. [85] found that emotions had a negative impact on the perception of nuclear energy. In this study, we believe that negative emotions related to climate change will positively affect the support for and support future greenhouse gas reduction policies. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis 8. The higher the negative emotions related to climate change, the higher acceptance of the plastic tax. Planned behavior factors Climate change skepticism. Skeptical environmentalism, also known as environmental skepticism, refers to the belief that the environmental crisis claimed by scientists and environmental scientists is overestimated and that there are data errors [74]. Climate change skepticism is conceptually related to awareness of consequences (AC) from the VBN

theory. As demonstrated by Poortinga et al. [36], climate skepticism fundamentally undermines the acknowledgment of consequences, serving as an inverse indicator of AC. Those with higher skepticism typically demonstrate lower awareness of environmental consequences. Lomborg [86] found that skeptics with strong anti-environmentalist leanings believed that environmentalism was a threat to social and economic progress and civil liberties. Whitmarsh [87] found that skepticism was a structural problem, with the proportion of people believing in climate change being overestimated to more than double the value between 2003 and 2008. Climate change skepticism is a position that denies the seriousness of climate change, and is sometimes referred to as climate change denialism [73]. Albayrak et al. [88] analyzed the causal relationship between skepticism and environmental behavior and found that the weaker the skepticism, the stronger the pro-environmental purchasing behavior. Further, the stronger the skepticism, the lower the climate change awareness and intention to act [73]. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis 9. Climate change skepticism moderates the relationship between climate change values, risk perception paradigm, and acceptance of the plastic tax.