Decoding the Green Choice: Climate Awareness, Mandatory Labelling, and Urban–Rural Differences in Willingness to Pay for Low-Carbon Agriculture

This study investigates the psychological and contextual mechanisms through which consumers’ awareness of agriculture’s contribution to climate change translates into a willingness to pay (WTP) for low-carbon agricultural products. Drawing on data from Eurobarometer 93.2 (ZA7739; N = 24,193), the research applies a moderated mediation model (Hayes’ PROCESS Model 14) to examine the mediating role of support for mandatory environmental labelling and the moderating effect of residential context. The results indicate that climate change awareness is significantly and positively associated with WTP. Moreover, support for mandatory labelling partially mediates this relationship, suggesting that institutionalized transparency may serve as a key mechanism through which environmental concern becomes economically actionable. The findings further reveal that this indirect effect is moderated by the level of urbanization, being stronger in urban areas than in rural settings. This highlights the importance of socio-spatial context in shaping consumer responses to sustainability information. Overall, the study contributes to the literature on sustainable consumption by demonstrating that willingness to financially support low-carbon agriculture depends not only on environmental awareness but also on trust-enhancing policy instruments and contextual factors. The findings offer important implications for policymakers aiming to promote sustainable food systems through information-based regulation.