TY - JOUR

T1 - A general explanation for environmental policy support

T2 - An example using carbon taxation approval in Germany

AU - Gerdes, Ronja

AU - Bauske, Emily

AU - Kaiser, Florian G.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors

PY - 2023/9

Y1 - 2023/9

N2 - In democratic societies, public support is crucial for the success of climate change mitigation policies. In this article, we present a parsimonious explanation—grounded in the Campbell paradigm—for explicit approval of environmental policies based on two forces: (a) an individual's commitment to environmental protection (i.e., people's environmental attitudes) and (b) the figurative costs entailed by a specific policy. We tested this model with carbon tax variants and data from German samples from four different sociocultural conditions (Ntotal = 8,166). The results showed that only a minority (36%) were sufficiently committed to environmental protection to approve of a carbon tax regardless of its specific details. Even the most favorable tax level and use of revenue achieved an approval rate of only 48%. Regional differences and interactions among the carbon taxation specifications turned out to be negligible. Overall, our results corroborate the generalizability of the proposed environmental policy support model.

AB - In democratic societies, public support is crucial for the success of climate change mitigation policies. In this article, we present a parsimonious explanation—grounded in the Campbell paradigm—for explicit approval of environmental policies based on two forces: (a) an individual's commitment to environmental protection (i.e., people's environmental attitudes) and (b) the figurative costs entailed by a specific policy. We tested this model with carbon tax variants and data from German samples from four different sociocultural conditions (Ntotal = 8,166). The results showed that only a minority (36%) were sufficiently committed to environmental protection to approve of a carbon tax regardless of its specific details. Even the most favorable tax level and use of revenue achieved an approval rate of only 48%. Regional differences and interactions among the carbon taxation specifications turned out to be negligible. Overall, our results corroborate the generalizability of the proposed environmental policy support model.

KW - Campbell paradigm

KW - Civic behavior

KW - Community involvement

KW - Conservation (ecological behavior)

KW - Environmental attitudes

KW - Psychology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85165597133&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102066

DO - 10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102066

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 90

JO - Journal of Environmental Psychology

JF - Journal of Environmental Psychology

SN - 0272-4944

M1 - 102066

ER -