‘Green’ Public = ‘Green’ Policies or Vice Versa?

Abstract

The Paris accords made it pretty clear: to keep global warming below the 1.5° threshold, new and far-reaching policies are to be implemented that drastically reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a comparatively short amount of time. These policies could range from taxes on GHG emissions or bans on coal-fired power plants to subsidies for public transport and educational programs in schools. From recent research (e.g. Dermont et al. 2017 ; Edenhofer et al., 2012: 129) as well as real-world experience we know that effective climate change mitigation policies are not feasible without at least a certain degree of public support (cf. Jagers et al., 2018: 89). This panel therefore aims at a better understanding of the link between policies and public opinion. Are effective policies created because of public demand? Is a lack of public support really an obstacle to effective policies and to what extent is this link conditional on the political system? Can policies create public support – or even public opposition? These questions reflect varying perspectives found in the literature on the interlinkages between policies and public support: One emphasizes public responsiveness, i.e., that public opinion reacts to the policy context, while the second perspective suggests policy representation, namely that policy decisions follow public preferences (Soroka and Wlezien 2009; Wlezien 1995). Moreover, most recent approaches – following a policy feedback approach (Skocpol 1992) – consider that both mechanisms might be at work, either sequentially or endogenously. Feedbacks could thereby be positive or negative and thus supporting or hindering future policy change. This panel welcomes comparative as well as one-country analyses on the congruence between and the change of public opinion and public policy on environmental issues, for instance, but not limited to, greenhouse gas emissions, recycling, energy, infrastructure, or transport. It particularly welcomes papers that contribute to the methodological challenges related to the endogenous relationship between public policies and public opinion.

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