Public support for more ambitious climate policies: Empirical evidence from Germany

IF 6.6 2区经济学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Ecological Economics Pub Date : 2025-02-06 DOI:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108538

Sebastian Goerg , Andreas Pondorfer , Valentina Stöhr

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

To reach the goals of the Paris Agreement more ambitious climate policies will need to be implemented. In an experimental survey with a representative sample, we investigate how a change from existing climate policies to more ambitious policies drives public support. Using different descriptions of policies, we demonstrate that in general, more ambitious policies reduce public support. This effect is stronger if the focus is on an increase of carbon prices compared to a focus on a policy mix to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Economic preferences (i.e., reciprocity, trust, risk and patience) and other individual characteristics (e.g., experience of recent hazards, belief in climate change) as well as regional characteristics (i.e., Eastern Germany, macro-economic indicators, cohesion policies, and climate change) are substantially correlated with public support. This demonstrates challenges for the communication of tighter climate policies and underlines the need to address an audience with heterogeneous preferences and diverse regional backgrounds.

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来源期刊

Ecological Economics 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

12.00

自引率

5.70%

发文量

313

审稿时长

6 months

期刊介绍： Ecological Economics is concerned with extending and integrating the understanding of the interfaces and interplay between "nature''s household" (ecosystems) and "humanity''s household" (the economy). Ecological economics is an interdisciplinary field defined by a set of concrete problems or challenges related to governing economic activity in a way that promotes human well-being, sustainability, and justice. The journal thus emphasizes critical work that draws on and integrates elements of ecological science, economics, and the analysis of values, behaviors, cultural practices, institutional structures, and societal dynamics. The journal is transdisciplinary in spirit and methodologically open, drawing on the insights offered by a variety of intellectual traditions, and appealing to a diverse readership. Specific research areas covered include: valuation of natural resources, sustainable agriculture and development, ecologically integrated technology, integrated ecologic-economic modelling at scales from local to regional to global, implications of thermodynamics for economics and ecology, renewable resource management and conservation, critical assessments of the basic assumptions underlying current economic and ecological paradigms and the implications of alternative assumptions, economic and ecological consequences of genetically engineered organisms, and gene pool inventory and management, alternative principles for valuing natural wealth, integrating natural resources and environmental services into national income and wealth accounts, methods of implementing efficient environmental policies, case studies of economic-ecologic conflict or harmony, etc. New issues in this area are rapidly emerging and will find a ready forum in Ecological Economics.