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The socio-political processes that influence the acceptance of climate policies play a crucial role in shaping mitigation strategies. In this paper, we explore the interplay between social and political dynamics and their impact on climate policy support. Using a simplified model of the social and political system, we aim to uncover ways to enhance public support for climate change mitigation measures. Several factors come into play when considering policy support, including social norms, self-efficacy, social learning, and income. By examining climate mitigation policies and accounting for shifting and inherent preferences, we shed light on how individuals contribute to processes of social change. Through simulations, we find that even minimal peer pressure has a positive and significant impact on individuals' inclination towards green behaviours, regardless of whether regressive or progressive policies are implemented. Additionally, assuming uniform self-efficacy across society leads to an overestimation of society's acceptance of green policies. Our results highlight the importance of nurturing existing skills or developing new ones. Finally, our findings reveal that regional heterogeneity matters for climate policy acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is general agreement among economists and climate policy practitioners that carbon pricing should play a central role among all policies used to tackle climate change effectively. However, in most jurisdictions that have adopted carbon pricing mechanisms, the prevailing price levels remain too low to accelerate decarbonization and drive down emissions. This deficiency can be attributed to numerous political economy constraints, but most pressingly, to the negative distributional effects of the policies combined with the drain they impose on firms' competitiveness. These factors negatively influence the public acceptability of these policies and, thus, the feasibility of introducing ambitious carbon pricing. Recent innovations in the literature suggest that using the revenue from carbon pricing for specific social purposes may ease this political impasse. This study analyzes which revenue recycling strategies are effective, in various political economy environments, to support stringent carbon pricing. Employing the method of fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, this research draws findings from a cross-case comparison of thirty national-level policies. The salient conclusion is that hybrid use of carbon revenue that combines various compensatory schemes and spending on climate projects is the most effective strategy to enhance stringency, while a lack of compensation renders the introduction of ambitious carbon pricing implausible, even in some highly developed countries. • Revenue recycling is crucial factor in stringent carbon pricing policy. • The most effective political strategy is a hybrid use of revenues. • Compensation is critical to implementing higher carbon prices, in most countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uptake of actions to mitigate climate change at the household level might crowd out subsequent policy at the national level, which is problematic because national policy often has a larger mitigation potential than individual household measures. This study analyses crowding out between the uptake of low-cost actions and the support for national climate change policy in the agricultural sector. In the experimental set-up, survey respondents were primed to think about the implementation of low-cost mitigation practices and subsequently asked to express support for national mitigation policy. The results show a crowding-out effect between individual mitigation measures and support for national policy. Individuals with high levels of worry show a stronger crowding out effect. This study contributes to building understanding of when and why crowding out occurs in order to help frame and communicate future climate change policy. • Individual mitigation measures crowd out support for national climate change policy. • Crowding out is stronger within the climate change domain than biodiversity domain. • Individuals with high levels of worry show a stronger crowding out effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweden's current climate policy affects domestic combustion of fossil fuels and, thus, produces synergies on the policies aiming at reducing NO x and SO2 emissions. A matter of climate policy recently discussed by the Swedish Government, however, is to adopt a carbon emissions target, which excludes traded CO2 allowances. Although, this redefined carbon emissions target could be attained at the least costs through emissions trading, it will obstruct the ancillary benefits of reduced SO2 and NO x emissions arising from the current climate policy. The findings, here, suggest that additional policy instruments would have to decrease the SO2/GDP and NO x /GDP ratios by 48 and 72%, respectively for the 2020 carbon emissions target, in order to counteract the obstruction of ancillary benefits. Here, the emission multipliers of carbon emissions trading sectors distinguish from those of non-trading sectors when introduced into the interindustry model and applied to official emissions projections in examining the nitrogen and sulphur outcomes of Sweden's climate policy for 2020. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]