The Climate Decade: Changing Attitudes on Three Continents

46 Pages Posted: 2 Dec 2020 Last revised: 7 Jan 2021

See all articles by Fredrik Carlsson

Fredrik Carlsson

Goeteborg University - School of Economics & Commercial Law

Mitesh Kataria

School of Economics, Business and Law

Alan Krupnick

Resources for the Future

Elina Lampi

Göteborg University

Åsa Löfgren

Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg

Ping Qin

Renmin University of China

Thomas Sterner

Göteborg University - Department of Economics

Xiaojun Yang

School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi’an Jiaotong University

Date Written: May 1, 2020

Abstract

We examine how attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for climate policies have changed over the past decade in the United States, China, and Sweden. All three countries exhibit an increased willingness to pay for climate mitigation. Ten years ago, Sweden had a larger fraction of believers in anthropogenic climate change and a higher WTP for mitigation, but today the national averages are more similar. Although we find convergence in public support for climate policy across countries, there is considerable divergence in climate attitudes and preferences within countries, particularly the United States. Political polarization explains part of this divergence.

Keywords: Climate change, willingness to pay, climate policy attitudes, political polarization, multi-country, China, United States, Sweden

JEL Classification: Q51, Q54

Suggested Citation

Carlsson, Fredrik and Kataria, Mitesh and Krupnick, Alan and Lampi, Elina and Löfgren, Åsa and Qin, Ping and Sterner, Thomas and Yang, Xiaojun, The Climate Decade: Changing Attitudes on Three Continents (May 1, 2020). CeCAR Working Paper Series No. 7, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3739300 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3739300

Fredrik Carlsson (Contact Author)

Goeteborg University - School of Economics & Commercial Law ( email )

Box 640
SE 405 30 Goeteborg
Sweden
+46 31-773 4174 (Phone)
+46 31-773 1043 (Fax)

Mitesh Kataria

School of Economics, Business and Law ( email )

Germany

Alan Krupnick

Resources for the Future ( email )

1616 P Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
United States

Elina Lampi

Göteborg University ( email )

Viktoriagatan 30
Göteborg, 405 30
Sweden

Åsa Löfgren

Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg ( email )

Box 640
Vasagatan 1, E-building, floor 5 & 6
Göteborg, 40530
Sweden

HOME PAGE: http://economics.gu.se/english/staff/senior_lecturers-lecturers-_researchers/asa_lofgren/?languageId

Ping Qin

Renmin University of China ( email )

Room B906
Xianjin Building
Beijing, Beijing 100872
China

Thomas Sterner

Göteborg University - Department of Economics ( email )

Göteborg
Sweden

Xiaojun Yang

School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi’an Jiaotong University ( email )

28号 Xianning West Rd
Beilin, Xi'an, Shaanxi, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province 710049
China

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