A new study led by Aya Takagi and Ryosuke Nakadai from Yokohama National University suggests that public support for biodiversity conservation policies may not be as divided along cultural lines as support for climate change policies. The research, published in Communications Sustainability, surveyed 1,133 people in Japan about their cultural worldviews, values related to nature, perceptions of environmental risks, and their support for various environmental policies. These policies included measures targeting climate change, biodiversity conservation linked to climate change, and biodiversity conservation that was not directly tied to climate issues. The study found that cultural worldviews had a strong influence on attitudes toward climate change policies. Participants who held more hierarchical worldviews—those who generally prefer structured, unequal social systems—were more likely to view climate change as less of a risk and to support fewer climate-related measures. In contrast, individuals with more egalitarian views, who favor equal social structures, were more likely to support climate action. However, this strong link between worldview and policy support was not as clear when it came to biodiversity conservation measures, especially those not directly connected to climate change. For these policies, the researchers found no direct correlation between hierarchical worldviews and support. Another key finding was the role of relational values—people’s personal and cultural connections to nature. Participants who placed a higher value on these relationships showed greater support for all three types of environmental policies studied. Additionally, those with a stronger general understanding of science were more likely to support biodiversity conservation measures, even those related to climate change. These results suggest that relational values and scientific knowledge could serve as areas of common ground across different cultural perspectives. The researchers plan to test these findings through experiments. They aim to present the same policy in different ways while keeping its content unchanged to see if how the policy is framed affects public support. They also want to repeat the study in countries where environmental issues are more politically divided than in Japan and apply the approach to other policy areas, such as health and food security. However, the team cautions that simply rebranding climate policies as biodiversity conservation will not necessarily increase their popularity. The policies studied were fundamentally different, and the research identifies associations rather than proving direct cause-and-effect relationships.