Trust cost of environmental risk to government: the impact of Internet use

Environmental protection is regarded as an important component of contemporary governmental affairs, thus partly determining people’s attitude towards the performance of the authorities. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of Internet use on the trust cost of environmental risk to government. By employing the Chinese Social Survey in 2017, this study estimates a mediating effect model to investigate the relationship between Internet use, environmental risk perception, and people’s trust in government. The results reveal that Internet use has a significant and positive impact on individuals’ environmental risk perception, which would further indirectly lead to a decline in their trust in government. In addition, this study suggests the effect of Internet use on the political cost of environmental risk varies depending on people’s purpose of using the Internet and their attitudes toward online information. The findings address several environmental governance issues in the digital era, e.g., the effect of Internet technology on environmental risk management and people’s attitudes toward the performance of the environmental protection sector.