Examining the effects of gasoline prices on public support for climate policies

Ireri Hernandez Carballo () and Matthew Ryan Sisco
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Ireri Hernandez Carballo: Bocconi University
Matthew Ryan Sisco: RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment (EIEE), Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici

Nature Energy, 2024, vol. 9, issue 2, 219-227

Abstract: Abstract Successful implementation of climate policies requires public acceptability. Fuel prices may impact policy support. Here we examine this relationship by analysing retail gasoline prices and individual-level survey data from Italian and US metropolitan areas. We do not find a significant association between gasoline prices and support for funding renewable energy research, regulating CO2 emissions or requiring companies to pay carbon taxes. We do find that support for phasing out combustion-engine cars decreases when gasoline prices increase. In exploratory analyses, we find that lower-income and more liberal individuals reduce their support more as gasoline prices rise. Using an additional US nationally representative survey dataset, we find that higher gasoline prices are associated with lower support for environmental protection when it comes at the risk of curving economic growth. The negative effects of gasoline prices on climate policy support do not seem driven by reduced environmental concerns.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41560-024-01449-2

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