Abstract
How is it that such a nature-loving nation as the Czechs is so reserved about climate and environmental action? This chapter maps the history and development of the entanglement between the environment, the state, civil society, and the private sphere in the Czech Republic from the Communist era through the transition to the present time. It shows how the relationship between citizens and the state through the publicsphere shapes political and public responses to environmental problems and climate change.
The skepticism of Czech people toward the public sphere and their preference for keeping things private, together with the politicization of environmental and climate issues, could explain why although they love nature, they do not see environmental or climate action as their responsibility and therefore do not actively engage in such action.