Identifying opposition against increased carbon tax and reduced red meat consumption

Abstract

Identifying the individual characteristics that predict climate policy support can inform strategies to increase support for climate policies. This study examines how individual characteristics predict support for two policies that are central to the Norwegian Climate Plan, namely increasing the carbon tax and reducing red meat consumption. The study relies on survey data collected from a representative sample of Norwegian citizens (N=2001). The findings show that several individual characteristics negatively predict both carbon tax support and willingness to eat less red meat: 1) being less concerned about climate change, 2) having right-wing political orientation, 3) having lower trust in politicians, 4) living in rural areas, 5) having lower education, and 6) being male. Strategies to increase support for carbon tax and meat reduction should pay particular attention to these groups. Future research should address how to make climate policies more attractive among these segments of the population.