Determinants of Residents’ Approach–Avoidance Responses to the Personal Carbon Trading Scheme: An Empirical Analysis of Urban Residents in Eastern China

The personal carbon trading (PCT) scheme is a policy instrument for reducing downstream carbon emissions and creating a green lifestyle, and a bottleneck hampering its implementation is the behavioral willingness of residents. Due to a pre-existing stimulus-response association, the willingness of residents can be intuitively reflected by their approach–avoidance responses. This study theoretically analyzed the mechanisms for influencing residents’ approach–avoidance responses towards the personal carbon trading scheme based on open-ended interviews, and empirically examined the mechanisms by developing rating scales and conducting questionnaire surveys on urban residents in eastern China. Findings showed that residents’ approach–avoidance responses could be negatively affected by their preference for comfort, whereas they were positively impacted by their ecological values, sense of social responsibility, cognition of the behaviors for carbon emission reduction, and cognition of personal carbon trading. In terms of subjective norms, the culture of environmentalism had a positive effect on residents’ responses to PCT scheme, while the culture of consumerism caused a negative impact on their responses. Furthermore, the perceived behavioral controls of residents partially mediated the relationships between their psychological characteristics and approach–avoidance responses. Finally, primary and pivotal suggestions were proposed for nudging Chinese urban residents towards approaching the personal carbon trading scheme, which provide theoretical support and practical guidance for its implementation.