{
  "title": "Support for Climate Action Hinges on Public Understanding of Policy",
  "publication": "IMF Blog, February 10, 2023",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2023/02/09/support-for-climate-action-hinges-on-public-understanding-of-policy",
  "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2023/02/09/support-for-climate-action-hinges-on-public-understanding-of-policy",
  "overlayPath": "/en/blogs/articles/2023/02/09/support-for-climate-action-hinges-on-public-understanding-of-policy/index.md",
  "summary": "Novel survey shows how concerned people are about climate change, how they view mitigation polices, and what drives support for climate action",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Survey overview",
      "content": "- Survey size and timing:\n  - almost 30,000 people\n  - 28 countries\n  - conducted in July and August by market researcher YouGov\n- Coverage:\n  - included 20 of the top 25 emitters\n  - included nine of the 25 countries most exposed to climate change\n- Contextual urgency:\n  - world is not yet on track to contain global warming to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius\n  - failing to get emissions on the correct course by 2030 may lock global warming above 2 degrees and risk a catastrophic tipping point"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Public concern versus policy support",
      "content": "- General finding:\n  - People across the world worry about climate change, but that concern alone doesn’t translate into support for climate mitigation policies.\n- Correlates of higher concern:\n  - more likely to be female\n  - more educated\n  - followers of news\n  - more accepting of government’s role in regulating the economy\n  - public transport users and those that rely less on cars"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key findings on information and policy design",
      "content": "- Information effects:\n  - providing even small amounts of information on policy efficacy and benefits—including co-benefits, such as improved air quality and better health—can engender greater support\n  - this increased support may be short-lived if policy tradeoffs are not made explicit\n- Political economy:\n  - some of the most economically efficient policies, such as carbon pricing based on the content of fuels or their emissions, often face political resistance\n  - climate concern alone doesn’t translate into broad support for carbon pricing policies such as carbon taxes or emissions trading systems\n- Conditions that increase acceptability of carbon pricing:\n  - presenting information about the impact of climate change\n  - explaining how pricing works\n  - describing options for using the revenue it generates\n  - stronger support if revenues are used to shield economically vulnerable groups from adverse impacts"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Attitudes toward other climate policies",
      "content": "- Subsidies and public investment:\n  - subsidizing green investments finds large support across all countries\n  - opponents often cite concerns about corruption and policy ineffectiveness\n  - proponents can sometimes fail to recognize the costs associated with these policies for the public budget\n  - implication: public spending and investment efficiency matters in enhancing support for greening the economy"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Support for multilateral action",
      "content": "- Collective action and fairness:\n  - a majority of respondents across all countries think that climate change policy will only be effective if most countries adopt measures to reduce carbon emissions\n  - most respondents in both advanced and emerging market economies think that all countries, not only rich ones, should pay to address climate change\n  - a large share of respondents in most countries say burden sharing should be based on current rather than historical emissions\n- Political implication:\n  - the public is likely to back costly climate policies if other countries do so, both because this increases the odds of reaching global net-zero emissions goals and because those efforts resonate as fair"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Knowledge gaps and policy recommendations",
      "content": "- Knowledge gaps:\n  - knowledge of climate mitigation policies remains patchy\n  - many people still have no opinion when it comes to supporting or opposing climate policy actions in their country\n- How governments can better support green transitions:\n  - Educate the public about the causes and consequences of climate change and the costs of inaction\n  - Talk about the costs of inaction, such as pollution, and the benefits of addressing these, like improvements for air quality, health, and protection of low-income households\n  - Emphasize that the policies work, so the trade-offs are worth it\n  - Underscore the shared spirit of solidarity and need for strong climate policies in a broad range of economies\n\nSource: Support for Climate Action Hinges on Public Understanding of Policy, February 10, 2023.\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- Our survey\n- not yet on track\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2023/02/09/support-for-climate-action-hinges-on-public-understanding-of-policy"
    }
  ],
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    "[Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2023/02/09/support-for-climate-action-hinges-on-public-understanding-of-policy/index.md)",
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    "Authors: Bo Li, Era Dabla-Norris, Krishna Srinivasan",
    "Published: February 10, 2023",
    "Survey size and timing:",
    "Coverage:",
    "Contextual urgency:",
    "General finding:",
    "Correlates of higher concern:",
    "Information effects:",
    "Political economy:",
    "Conditions that increase acceptability of carbon pricing:",
    "Subsidies and public investment:",
    "Collective action and fairness:",
    "Political implication:",
    "Knowledge gaps:",
    "How governments can better support green transitions:",
    "[Our survey](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Staff-Discussion-Notes/Issues/2023/02/07/Public-Perceptions-of-Climate-Mitigation-Policies-Evidence-from-Cross-Country-Surveys-528057?cid=bl-com-SDNEA2023002)",
    "[not yet on track](https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2022/11/04/getting-back-on-track-to-net-zero-three-critical-priorities-for-cop27)"
  ],
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