Mitigating climate change requires significant shifts away from greenhouse gas-intensive consumption patterns and lifestyles. Both voluntary individual behavioral change and government action are needed to reduce household emissions sufficiently. However, the relationship between individual action and support for climate policy remains contested. While some argue that individual pro-environmental actions increase support for related policies, others suggest that these actions decrease support by reducing the perceived need for government intervention and serving as a moral licensing strategy.

We contribute to this literature by employing an experimental design among a representative sample of the Swiss resident population (n=3457) that causally assesses how the willingness to engage in specific emission reduction strategies influences climate policy support. Using a novel elicitation tool that allows respondents to make realistic trade-offs between different types of pro-environmental behavior, we assess how the choice of specific emission reduction strategies subsequently influences policy support. This experimental design allows for a more valid assessment of pro-environmental behavioral choices than previous studies. In addition, we assess which individual-level characteristics are associated with an increase in policy support subsequent to the choice task and for whom the treatment may backfire, leading to negative spillovers.

Our results will provide insights into the dynamics between individual actions and policy support, offering guidance for designing interventions that complement behavioral preferences while fostering broader acceptance of effective climate policies.