What makes carbon pricing policies acceptable to the public? A systematic review of the impact of policy design

Mara Unterguggenberger, Ilda Dreoni () and David Klenert ()
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Ilda Dreoni: European Commission - JRC, https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/index_en
David Klenert: European Commission - JRC, https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/index_en

No 2026-09, JRC Working Papers on Taxation & Structural Reforms from Joint Research Centre

Abstract: Carbon pricing policies are often met with resistance from parts of the public, even if they are designed with efficiency and fairness in mind. To understand in more depth what the policy design characteristics of carbon price policies are that increase public acceptability, we perform a systematic literature review. We use a dual-stage screening process to systematically review both peer-reviewed and grey literature. Out of the 431 initial search results we selected 23 papers, comprising 38 survey samples with approximately 60,000 participants from 17 countries. 58% of them examine revenue redistribution strategies and 30% assess the impact of carbon price levels, which cover a wide range of prices. We find that revenue redistribution mechanisms in general exhibit the largest proportion of increased acceptability. In particular, monetary redistribution schemes, such as cash transfers or tax cuts, as well as green public investment, are identified as having a positive effect on the acceptability of carbon pricing policies. Further, we highlight factors that are relevant for public support but are currently under-explored, such as policy transparency, timing of redistribution and administrative scale of implementation. Also, geographical coverage remains uneven, with 73% of samples drawn from North America and Europe, and Germany alone accounting for 31%, underscoring the need for broader regional representation in future research.

Date: 2026-07
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