Subsidise, Tax, or Ban? Explaining Individual Preferences for Energy-Related Climate Change Policies Across Europe

There is a variety of instruments available for energy-related climate change policies. The choices that politicians make—and to a certain extent, the success of their choices—depend on public support for alternatives, at least in democratic countries. Yet we know very little about individual preferences in this area. Drawing on the current wave of European Social Survey, this paper analyses the determinants of support for three such alternatives across Europe: (1) taxing or (2) banning the environmentally detrimental ways of producing and consuming energy as well as (3) subsidising the eco-friendly ones. The results show that what people know and how much they earn help explain the differences in their preferences. There is also evidence to suggest that Europeans are sensitive to the redistributive effects of energy policies. This contradicts the understanding that such effects are hard to grasp for individuals, with implications for the re-election seeking political actors having to make future decisions in this area.