European solidarity in the green transition

LIEPP's Socio-fiscal policies and Environmental policies research groups are pleased to convene the seminar : 

European solidarity in the green transition:
Evidence from a conjoint experiment on EU climate change mitigation policy  

March 14th 2023. 2:30pm-4pm. 

Location : Salle du LIEPP. Sciences Po, 1 place Saint-Thomas d'Aquin, 75007 Paris.

Mandatory registration to participate to the seminar in person / remotely

Speaker : 

Sharon Baute (University of Konstanz)

Abstract : 

To fight climate change, the European Union has developed a roadmap for a new growth strategy – the European Green Deal – which states the EU’s ambition to become the first climate- neutral continent in the world by 2050. However, reductions of emissions might come at the expense of exacerbating social inequalities. Against this background, the currentstudy examines the public attitudes towards EU climate change mitigation policy. Drawing on an original conjoint survey experiment among the German population, the study examines citizens’ preferences towards alternative policy designs. Results show that support for EU climate change mitigation policies depend on the program’s sectoral scope, social spending, financing, and allocation principles. More specifically, policy packages receive stronger support if these are targeted at the renewable energy sector, include social programs, are financed by increasing taxes on the rich, and allocate resources between EU member states based on population size. However, heterogeneous effects are observed by income position, in particular when it comes to the social spending dimension. European climate change mitigation policies which provide support for unemployment benefits, (re)training of workers or subsidies to low-income households are namely more effective in mobilizing support among lower income groups. These findings suggest that social policies can help finding broader support coalitions for the green transition in Europe.