Understanding Public Opposition Against Carbon Taxes in Europe

Carbon taxes are considered a key instrument for achieving deep decarbonization but are often unpopular among voters. This paper analyses the policy preferences of more than 40’000 individuals from 23 countries, the largest empirical assessments of carbon tax attitudes ever conducted. The results demonstrate that political trust is more predictive of carbon tax opposition than climate change perception and economic reasoning. The personal responsibility to reduce climate change, trust in political institutions, and trust in the political system are the three most important predictors. Moreover, people who live in countries with high existing carbon prices are substantially more likely to accept further increases in carbon taxes than respondents from countries with moderate or low carbon prices. Acceptance of higher carbon taxes increases only marginally when carbon pricing revenue is recycled back to households. These results highlight the importance of accompanying carbon taxes with elaborate communication measures in order to win public approval.