The costs and benefits of climate policies vary across economic conditions at the regional and individual level due to differences in vulnerability to climate change, contributions to GHG emissions and the distributional effects of such policies. Understanding how these inequalities shape public preferences for climate policies is critical for ensuring the feasibility of effective climate action. While prior research offers competing evidence on the link between economic conditions and climate attitudes, this study shifts the focus to perceptions and beliefs about specific policies, which are among the strongest predictors of policy support.
We study how differences in economic conditions at the individual and regional levels affect people’s perceptions of various climate policies and their support for them. Our analysis draws on novel data from a representative survey conducted across 13 EU countries, which we integrate with regional economic indicators. The survey assesses public perceptions of the cost and effectiveness of four climate policies, differentiated by sector and policy instrument type. Using a within-between random effects model, we disentangle the effects of individual income disparities and regional economic growth inequalities on these perceptions and their subsequent impact on policy support.
By providing a better understanding of how economic conditions shape climate policy perceptions and support, our findings offer valuable insights into the political feasibility of climate action in the EU. They also improve our understanding of the relationship between economic inequalities and public responses to climate policies.