WHAT IS ACCEPTABLE? How Policymakers Consider Policy Attitudes When Designing Climate Policies

Abstract

Despite extensive research on factors influencing citizens’ attitudes towards climate policies, little is known about whether policymakers consider these when designing climate policies. This qualitative study aimed to explore which factors policymakers consider for gaining policy acceptability and acceptance when designing climate policies through semi structured interviews with policymakers in Trollhättan as a single-case study, and how their considerations align with those identified in previous literature as important to citizens. The analysis revealed that ex post policy acceptance appeared to matter to policymakers, while the public was often reported to be unaware of policies during the proposal stage, rendering ex ante acceptability less relevant to policymakers. Policymakers considered several themes that influence citizens’ attitudes, in line with previous research, including the role of personal cost and collective benefits, perceived effectiveness, and the combination of push and pull measures. However, other key factors named in research on citizens’ attitudes were seldom considered: distributional fairness, environmental justice, and the tailoring of information. Most policymakers seemed to believe that communication and explaining why a climate policy matters are sufficient to make it accepted, despite research in the field finding that perceived fairness and effectiveness are the most crucial factors influencing policy attitudes. Future research could replicate the study using different cases or test the results in a quantitative study.