Interaction effects on support for climate‐change mitigation
Published online on October 29, 2021
Abstract
["Social Science Quarterly, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\n\nBackground\nResearch on the social bases of environmental concern has established robust findings across various sociodemographic characteristics. This includes interaction effects between education and political identity, as well as particularly low concern among supporters of President Trump.\n\n\nObjectives\nUsing 2016 survey data, we extend such research to examine U.S. public support for four climate‐change mitigation strategies: investment in renewable energy, lifestyle changes, a revenue‐neutral carbon tax, and cap‐and‐trade.\n\n\nMethods\nWe perform ordered logit regression of belief in anthropogenic climate change and support for these strategies on several key independent variables.\n\n\nResults\nSupport follows some of the patterns expected for environmental concern generally but with new details. Trump support is a dominant predictor, and education × party interactions show significant variations in levels of support.\n\n\nConclusion\nThis provides important insights for public policy decision making related to climate change by considering which characteristics are most predictive of support for specific strategies.\n\n"]