Securing public support for climate change action is vital if the crucial targets agreed at the COP summits are to be reached. Research from Yale suggests that the public is more likely to support such actions if they’re confident that other countries are doing their bit too.

The researchers examined the extent public support for what could be costly climate policies depends on the actions of other countries. The results suggest that the public is indeed more likely to support the introduction of a domestic carbon tax if they’re confident that other nations are also investing in climate action. This is because they’re more likely to view such actions as both fair and effective.

Climate support

The research, which was conducted across France, the US, UK, and Germany, asked respondents to indicate their support (or lack of) for the introduction of a carbon tax. The results showed that 60% said they would support such a tax if other countries also introduced one. When this joint action was not evident, support dropped to just 53%.

“We also find that when domestic climate measures are embedded internationally, people are more likely to believe that these reforms will have a positive impact on important social, economic, and environmental sustainability goals,” the researchers explain.

This was followed up by a second study that explored the acceptability of climate action costs if other countries were also pursuing ambitious and costly measures.

For instance, if domestic household costs rose from a relatively low level to a relatively high level, support for policies shrank by 7% if costs remained low abroad. If actions were jointly conducted, however, then support only fell by 5%.

“Even if people generally dislike costs, they are more willing to accept cost increases if other countries also make higher contributions,” the researchers explain.

As a result, it’s clear that for climate change actions to gain support domestically, it’s vital that they’re seen as fair and that other countries are also doing their fair share.

“Investing in well-functioning international agreements is worthwhile not only from a natural science perspective, but also for policymakers interested in securing broader public support for costly climate action domestically,” the researchers conclude.