What influences public acceptability of sustainable energy policies? The crucial role of funding and who benefits

Abstract

Public acceptance of sustainable energy policies is critical for successfully transitioning towards a sustainable energy system. However, relatively little is known about when and why people find energy policies acceptable. We examined to what extent policy characteristics and individual motivational factors influence sustainable energy policy acceptability among a representative sample in the Netherlands. Using a within-participants experimental design, 261 respondents rated the acceptability of 24 energy policies which systematically varied based on the energy behaviour targeted by the policy, whether the policy was a push or pull design, and whether the policies indicated they would generate funds from or allocate funds to individuals, an environmental fund, or a general fund of pooled finances. We replicated previous findings that the stronger people's biospheric values, the more acceptable they find sustainable energy policies. Moreover, we found that a policy's target behaviour may influence acceptability, but that this is no longer the case when controlling for biospheric values. Lastly, we found push policies were considered more acceptable when revenues benefited individuals or the environment instead of general funds, and pull policies were more acceptable when they were paid for by general funds and to a lesser extent environmental funds, compared to being paid for by individuals, and that these results held when controlling for people's biospheric values. Overall, our findings suggest sustainable energy policy acceptability depends on the extent to which individuals benefit from the policy. However, importantly, acceptability also strongly depends on the extent to which the environment benefits.