Saturday, February 15, 2025
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Competing Crises in Climate Policy

“Keeping Climate Change in Crisis Mode: How Urgency Can Drive Support for Carbon Emission Reduction”

The study conducted by Laura Seelkopf and her co-authors sheds light on the challenges of garnering public support for measures to combat the global climate crisis. The research, which surveyed 21,000 individuals across 17 European countries, revealed that while providing information about the climate crisis increased support for a tax on fossil fuels, this support waned when participants were reminded of other pressing crises such as Covid-19 or the conflict in Ukraine.

The initial findings showed that only 28 percent of participants supported the introduction of a tax on fossil fuels. However, when informed about the climate crisis beforehand, this number increased to 40 percent, with 35 percent opposing the tax. Yet, when participants were subsequently reminded of other crises, support for the tax dropped to 30 percent, with 45 percent rejecting it.

According to Seelkopf and her colleagues, the competition between the climate crisis and other immediate events with shorter time horizons poses a challenge in mobilizing support for costly climate policies. To address this issue, the researchers recommend that political decision-makers maintain a sense of urgency around climate change by keeping it in crisis mode. By emphasizing the importance of climate policy and regularly reminding the public of the urgency of the situation, decision-makers can increase awareness and support for necessary measures.

The authors also highlight the importance of self-imposed deadlines, such as the ‘Net Zero by 2050’ scenario proposed by the International Energy Agency and the ‘Fit for 55’ plan of the EU, as tools to remind people that current climate policies are insufficient and falling short of agreed targets. By maintaining a sense of urgency and emphasizing the necessity of action, policymakers can work towards garnering greater public support for measures to address the global climate crisis.

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