How Politicians and Voters Attribute Responsibility for Climate Change Mitigation: the Role of the Left-Right and Environmental Dimensions.

The question of responsibility is at the heart of the climate change mitigation issue, and it has even been suggested that disagreement over who should act hinders progress toward global targets. To gain a deeper understanding of such disagreement, this study uses 2021 survey data from the Norwegian Citizen Panel (N=2030) and the Panel of Elected Representatives (N=1211), combined with 2020 party position data from the Chapel Hill Expert Survey, to examine how Norwegian voters and politicians attribute responsibility for climate change mitigation to various actors (individuals, local authorities, national authorities, the international community, and business and industry), and whether these attributions are shaped by the left-right and environmental political dimensions. The results show broad cross-political agreement that individuals bear the least responsibility for climate change mitigation and the international community the most. Political dimensions structure attribution patterns in different ways. The left-right dimension influences the relative responsibility assigned to the actors. Left-leaning politicians and voters tend to attribute greater responsibility to authorities than to individuals, while right-leaning politicians and voters show no statistically significant difference between these actors. Meanwhile, right-leaning politicians and voters tend to attribute greater responsibility to the international community than to the other actors, whereas left-leaning politicians and voters show no statistically significant difference between international community and national authorities. The environmental dimension influences overall responsibility levels, with environmental parties and voters attributing greater responsibility to all actors compared to less environmental ones. The effects of political dimensions on attribution of responsibility are more pronounced among politicians than among voters. By analyzing attribution of responsibility, this study illuminates preferences for climate change responses, both in terms of who should act and the perceived necessity of action. By linking attribution of responsibility to political dimensions, the study helps explain patterns of climate change mobilization, contestation, and polarization. By including politicians’ perspectives, the study contributes analysis of the attitudes of an understudied group, who not only plays an important role in implementing climate change policy, but who may also influence voter opinion.