Global warming cools voters down: how climate concerns affect policy preferences

Maria Cotofan, Karlygash Kuralbayeva and Konstantinos Matakos

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: This study examines how regional temperature variations across OECD countries influence political behavior and support for offset policies. Our analysis reveals that exposure to higher temperatures correlates with political moderation, reduced backing for extreme and populist parties, heightened climate concerns, and increased support for environmentally conscious agendas. These effects are primarily driven by older individuals, who exhibit increased concerns about climate change and the economic costs of climate policies following temperature spikes. Moreover, they express support for policies aimed at mitigating these economic impacts. Conversely, younger individuals show less apprehension about the economic consequences of climate policies and demonstrate readiness to bear them, including through higher energy bills. These findings emphasize the necessity of accounting for age-related perspectives when formulating effective climate policies for the future.

Keywords: preference formation; environmental policies; policy support; voting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D83 H23 H31 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 48 pages
Date: 2024-04-15
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-ene and nep-pol
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:126818

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