Who can cope with a carbon tax? The role of financial consequences in policy acceptance among German homeowners

Datos Bibliográficos

ID13067795
AutoresKarolin Schmidt (0000-0002-7634-4139, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, autor de correspondencia), Ingo Kasnter (Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg), Ellen Matthies (0000-0003-3644-9742, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg)
Año2024
Volumen111
Páginas103492-103492
Fecha de publicación2024-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEnergy Research & Social Science (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2214-6296 • E-ISSN: 2214-6326
EditorialElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.erss.2024.103492
OpenAlexW4392439005
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas20

Although carbon pricing represents a crucial policy measure for global climate-protection, its political enforceability is strongly determined by its societal acceptance, which is often lacking. Building on diverse previous research, the main objective of the present study was to examine the role that people's perceived ability to cope with the financial hurdle of carbon pricing plays for their acceptance of carbon pricing. The financial hurdle of carbon pricing is used to describe the negative financial consequences on people's energy consumption imposed through carbon pricing. Thereby, we investigated the relations between people's acceptance of carbon pricing and their perceived ability to actively cope (by making high energy-saving investments) on the one hand, as well as their strong feelings of helplessness and concern due to the financial burden of carbon pricing on the other hand. A survey of German homeowners ( N = 588) provided empirical evidence for people's acceptance of carbon pricing to be significantly affected by their perceived ability to cope. This, in turn, is strongly affected by perceptions of external support for high energy-saving investments (from government funding programs), among others. To validate our data further, we examined our results' applicability to people's acceptance of rising fossil fuel prices in general. Overall, our results imply the need for a stronger consideration of people's perceived ability to cope with the financial hurdle of carbon pricing on their daily consumption patterns/lives – not only to explain, but also to promote people's acceptance of comparable negative incentive climate-protection policies

Business · Economics · Feeling · Incentive · Microeconomics · Public economics · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Psychology · Social Psychology · Finance