Abstract
ObjectivesWithout urgent action, climate change will put the health of future populations at risk. Policies to reduce these risks require support from today's populations; however, there are few studies assessing public support for such policies. Willingness to pay (WtP), a measure of the maximum a person is prepared to pay for a defined benefit, is widely used to assess public support for policies. We used WtP to investigate whether there is public support to reduce future health risks from climate change and if individual and contextual factors affect WtP, including perceptions of the seriousness of the impacts of climate change. Study designA cross-sectional British survey. MethodsQuestions about people's WtP for policies to reduce future climate change-related deaths and their perceptions of the seriousness of climate change impacts were included in a British survey of adults aged 16 years and over (n=1859). We used contingent valuation, a survey-based method for eliciting WtP for outcomes like health which do not have a direct market value. ResultsThe majority (61%) were willing to pay to reduce future increases in climate change-related deaths in Britain. Those regarding climate change impacts as not at all serious were less willing to pay than those regarding the impacts as extremely serious (OR 0.04, 95% CI 0.02-0.09). Income was also related to WtP; the highest-income group were twice as likely to be willing to pay as the lowest-income group (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.40-3.29). ConclusionsThere was public support for policies to address future health impacts of climate change; the level of support varied with people's perceptions of the seriousness of these impacts and their financial circumstances. Our study adds to evidence that health, including the health of future populations, is an outcome that people value and suggests that framing climate change around such values may help to accelerate action.
Highlights
IntroductionThe health impacts of climate change on today's populations are becoming increasingly evident.[1,2] Failure to keep global mean temperatures within 1.5 centigrade of pre-industrial levels will threaten the health of future populations;[3,4] projections point to increases in global temperatures by 2050 that are significantly above this threshold.[5,6] In the UK context, increasing temperatures are associated with an increased frequency and intensity of extreme hot weather and flooding; these climate changeerelated exposures have been highlighted as major risks to the future health of the UK population,7e10 with older people and children at risk.[7,11,12] The Climate Change Act (2008) sets the framework for climate governance in the UK and mandates action on mitigation and adaptation.[13,14] Both offer significant cobenefits for public health[1,15,16] and are urgently needed to protect the health of future populations.[5,6] The health of future populations turns on the actions of today's population and, in particular, on the speed and magnitude of the policy response to climate change.1,6,17e19 policiesdand the economic evaluations that inform themdgive greater weight to the well-being of current populations.20e22 A time weight (a discount rate) is applied when assessing the costs and benefits of policies, with future costs and benefits valued less highly than current ones
The majority (61%) were willing to pay to reduce future increases in climate change-related deaths in Britain. Those regarding climate change impacts as not at all serious were less willing to pay than those regarding the impacts as extremely serious
Income was related to Willingness to pay (WtP); the highest-income group were twice as likely to be willing to pay as the lowest-income group
Summary
The health impacts of climate change on today's populations are becoming increasingly evident.[1,2] Failure to keep global mean temperatures within 1.5 centigrade of pre-industrial levels will threaten the health of future populations;[3,4] projections point to increases in global temperatures by 2050 that are significantly above this threshold.[5,6] In the UK context, increasing temperatures are associated with an increased frequency and intensity of extreme hot weather and flooding; these climate changeerelated exposures have been highlighted as major risks to the future health of the UK population,7e10 with older people and children at risk.[7,11,12] The Climate Change Act (2008) sets the framework for climate governance in the UK and mandates action on mitigation and adaptation.[13,14] Both offer significant cobenefits for public health[1,15,16] and are urgently needed to protect the health of future populations.[5,6] The health of future populations turns on the actions of today's population and, in particular, on the speed and magnitude of the policy response to climate change.1,6,17e19 policiesdand the economic evaluations that inform themdgive greater weight to the well-being of current populations.20e22 A time weight (a discount rate) is applied when assessing the costs and benefits of policies, with future costs and benefits valued less highly than current ones. It is seen to be in line with public's preference to receive benefits and ‘to defer costs to future generations’.20
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