Turning mass support for environmental goals into action

With environmental problems, “greenlash,” and rollbacks of environmental policy dominating public discourse, the recently observed “mass support for conserving 30% of the Earth by 2030” may come as a surprise (1). Yet, this observation aligns with findings in other environmental domains. Research consistently shows that most people strongly care about nature and others (2, 3), more than what is typically suggested and anticipated (3–5). Although concrete environmental action still falls short of meeting environmental goals, this should not be directly attributed to a lack of caring about the environment. Opposition is more likely to arise from concerns about the fairness, feasibility, and impacts of environmental action (3, 6), as the findings of Michealsen et al. (1) illustrate, and should be addressed as such.