Effective Climate Policy Research Articles

Le Alpi nel 2050: clima e territorio

The Alps are indicators of climate change. Thanks to their variety of environments and altitudes, these places uncover some of the manifold consequences of global warming. Starting with the analysis of the current situation, 2022 has been an example of what, ever so frequently, may happen in the future: summer temperatures 3 ºC hotter than average has given rise to drought problems, trees and forests loss and a record reduction in glacial mass across the Alps. What lies ahead? What are the prospects for the future according to climate projections? The answer lies in the effectiveness of climate policies that, if unheeded, may result in catastrophic scenarios. The complete failure of the actions planned and implemented would, in fact, lead to climate chaos, inevitably affecting the habitability of the mountain areas. But not all is lost: virtuous practices will make it possible to achieve the 2-degree global warming goal, also thanks to a new way of living in the Alps that, bearing risks in mind, understands the need to divert financial resources to the environment, avoiding the unmanageable and managing the inevitable.

Decarbonization Prospects for the European Pulp and Paper Industry: Different Development Pathways and Needed Actions

The pulp and paper industry (PPI) has several opportunities to contribute to meeting prevailing climate targets. It can cut its own CO2 emissions, which currently account for 2% of global industrial fossil CO2 emissions, and it has an opportunity to produce renewable energy, fuels, and materials for other sectors. The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of the decarbonization prospects of the PPI. The study provides insights on the magnitude of needed annual renewal rates for several possible net-zero target years of industrial fossil CO2 emissions in the PPI and discusses decarbonization opportunities, namely, energy and material efficiency improvement, fuel switching, electrification, renewable energy production, carbon capture, and new products. The effects of climate policies on the decarbonization opportunities are critically evaluated to provide an overview of the current and future business environment of the European PPI. The focus is on Europe, but other regions are analyzed briefly to widen the view. The analysis shows that there are no major technical barriers to the fossil-free operation of the PPI, but the sector renovates slowly, and many new opportunities are not implemented on a large scale due to immature technology, poor economic feasibility, or unclear political environment.

Do Parties Matter for Environmental Policy Stringency? Exploring the Program-to-Policy Link for Environmental Issues in 28 Countries 1990–2015

Political parties are crucial in crafting effective national climate policies in democratic states. At the same time, there is a practical and academic debate of whether political parties matter for policy output. This article speaks to this debate by investigating the link between what parties say and what parties do with respect to environmental issues. More concretely, it analyzes whether there is a connection between the degree of environmentalism expressed in parties’ electoral manifestos and national environmental policy output. Theoretically, the article draws on existing research on program-to-policy linkages in general and for environmental issues specifically to argue that saliency of environmentalism in party manifestos shapes more stringent environmental policies. This argument is empirically tested by combining data on policy stringency with data on manifesto contents for 28 countries for the period 1990–2015. The findings corroborate the main hypothesis, which has implications for understanding the overall potential for political parties to structure national environmental politics. The article concludes by sketching broader implications for research on parties’ ability to shape national environmental policy across political systems, and across partisan ideologies.

In pursuit of progressive and effective climate policies: Comparing an air travel carbon tax and a frequent flyer levy

This paper investigates the trade-offs between progressivity and effectiveness for a carbon tax versus an ‘excessive consumption’ levy. To do this, we compare the distribution of consumer welfare impacts and environmental effectiveness of an air travel carbon tax and a frequent flyer levy. Results show that both policies have the potential to achieve substantial carbon mitigation with minimal impacts on consumer welfare. Nevertheless, compared with a carbon tax, a frequent flyer levy is more progressive and effective at reducing emissions – thus, there is no trade-off between progressivity and effectiveness by using an excessive consumption levy to mitigate air travel emissions. Furthermore, considering the pronounced growth in demand projected for air travel over the next 30 years, results show the frequent flyer levy will remain more progressive and effective over time. Although further research is needed to assess the trade-offs on the supply-side (e.g., protection of regular customers, dynamic efficiency) and related to implementation (e.g., data privacy, the role for revenue recycling), such an excessive consumption levy has the potential to be an equitable, effective and politically acceptable environmental policy for curbing carbon dioxide emissions. This is relevant not only for air travel but for other forms of consumption in which the affluent are responsible for a large share of demand and associated carbon emissions.

The Arab world on the verge of the energy transition: Challenges, ambitions, and limits to growth

Nowadays the socio-economic and political agenda of almost all countries of the Arab East includes the issues of sustainable development and green energy. The natural conditions of the region and its vulnerability to natural disasters prioritize the issues of environmental security and transition to renewable energy sources. The research has two objectives. Firstly, the authors attempt to outline prospects for enhancing capacities in clean energy production and replacing traditional energy sources that emerged in recent years in the Arab countries. Secondly, the paper assesses challenges and limits for green practices dissemination, as well as their capabilities of providing environmental security for the countries in the region. The authors note that an alternative approach to power generation is gradually taking root in the region and, judging by the scale of major projects being implemented, it has good prospects, especially in the field of solar energy. At the same time, despite the advantages of such projects, they have serious economic and technological constraints including pricing issues, problems of energy storage and waste disposal. However, the authors emphasize that the main obstacle to a coherent and effective climate policy for the entire Arab East stems from strong disproportions in economic development of the regional actors. The article thoroughly examines the experience of the most advanced Arab countries in the areas of renewable energy — the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The authors note that these countries actively experiment with all known renewable energy sources, including hydrogen-based, but at the same time, they are seeking to develop nuclear power. However, their ambitious projects do not reflect the real situation in the region as a whole, where most countries are extremely cautious in making risky, expensive decisions on energy and climate policy. They are not ready to unconditionally adopt Western approaches to ‘greening’ economy and take a wait-and-see attitude. This may explain certain inertia towards renewable energy sources that is shown by most countries of the Arab East.

Risk perception and political leaning explain the preferences of non-industrial private landowners for alternative climate change mitigation strategies in Finnish forests

Understanding landowners’ willingness to act on climate change is important for effective climate policy. This study investigates the determinants of Finnish non-industrial private forest owners’ preferences for alternative climate change mitigation strategies related to forests and wood use. The study tests hypotheses concerning the role of risk perception and political leaning for the support of seven alternative strategies with varying degree of disruption to the current logic of commercial forestry in Finland, which further aligns with the temporal delay in the impact of climate change mitigation strategies that landowners are willing to accept. Based on 887 survey responses from three regions, the study finds that forest owners generally support all but one of the seven strategies: reduced harvest. Results from ordinal logistic regression models further indicate that along with socio-demographic determinants, higher perceived risk and left-wing leaning with a university degree explain support for more disruptive strategies with more immediate mitigation impact (increased conservation, reduced harvest), while lower perceived risk and right-wing leaning without a university degree tend to associate with support for the less disruptive strategies (intensified management, increased harvest), both of which arguably sideline the urgency of climate action. In the highly politicized matter of harvest levels in Finland, the study also finds that right-wing leaning may negate the effect of higher education, which otherwise predicts greater support for more disruptive strategies. Implications for policy at the climate-forest nexus are derived.

Carbon taxation: A review of the empirical literature

AbstractIn view of the challenges posed by climate change and the increasingly ambitious climate targets around the world, the search for effective climate policy instruments is gaining momentum. Carbon pricing, for example, in the form of a carbon tax, and its effects are therefore attracting increasing attention in academic as well as policy discussions. We review the empirical effects of carbon taxes with regard to several impact dimensions commonly studied in the literature: environmental effectiveness, macroeconomic effects, impacts on competitiveness and innovation, distributional implications, and public acceptance. An increasing body of empirical studies shows that carbon taxes can effectively reduce carbon emissions or at least dampen their growth while not negatively affecting economic growth, employment, and competitiveness. The existing empirical evidence suggests that the distributional impact of carbon taxes depends on the type of energy use and the indicators to capture distributional effects, as well as on household characteristics. Lump‐sum transfers are shown to be better suited to mitigate regressive effects for lower incomes, while higher incomes benefit more from a reduction of labor taxes. Public acceptance of carbon taxes can be increased by providing public information, avoiding negative distributional effects, and channeling part of the revenues into "environmental projects."

National accounting systems as a foundation for embedded emissions accounting in trade-related climate policies

As governments around the world make more ambitious net-zero commitments, they are paying increasing attention to the greenhouse emissions embedded in traded products. Trade-related climate policy instruments – such as border carbon adjustments, linked emissions trading schemes, or certification schemes are being debated or developed in numerous jurisdictions. These instruments will rely heavily on robust and consistent calculation of embedded emissions, both for efficacy and for compliance with WTO rules. Public emissions accounting frameworks - developed for National Accounts - possess attributes of relative simplicity and modularity, which make them worthy of consideration as a starting point for development of public embedded emissions accounting to support trade-related climate policy. Using the case study of potential ammonia supply chains we assess existing methodologies of four Asia-Pacific countries against the criteria of completeness, accuracy and compliance with trade rules. We find considerable variance in practices between countries, which could be an obstacle to emergence of effective trade-related climate policy in the region. Critical areas for consideration include harmonising global warming potential (GWP) factors, and ensuring the existence of methodologies capable of estimating batch-level embedded emissions. These issues notwithstanding, public emissions accounting frameworks appear to have potential as a starting point for embedded emissions accounting to underpin trade-related climate policy.

From regime‐building to implementation: Harnessing the UN climate conferences to drive climate action

AbstractThe gap between the internationally agreed climate objectives and tangible emissions reductions looms large. We explore how the supreme decision‐making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Conference of the Parties (COP), could develop to promote more effective climate policy. We argue that promoting implementation of climate action could benefit from focusing more on individual sectoral systems, particularly for mitigation. We consider five key governance functions of international institutions to discuss how the COP and the sessions it convenes could advance implementation of the Paris Agreement: guidance and signal, rules and standards, transparency and accountability, means of implementation, and knowledge and learning. In addition, we consider the role of the COP and its sessions as mega‐events of global climate policy. We identify opportunities for promoting sectoral climate action across all five governance functions and for both the COP as a formal body and the COP sessions as conducive events. Harnessing these opportunities would require stronger involvement of national ministries in addition to the ministries of foreign affairs and environment that traditionally run the COP process, as well as stronger involvement of non‐Party stakeholders within formal COP processes.This article is categorized under: Policy and Governance > International Policy Framework

Prioritizing adaptation and mitigation in the climate movement: evidence from a cross-national protest survey of the Global Climate Strike, 2019

Climate adaptation is seen by many as increasingly important and as deeply political, leading some to argue for its democratization. Social movements could play an important role in this. Meanwhile, we have recently witnessed a major swell in climate activism, as well as a growing realization among climate activists that it may be too late to prevent major climate disruptions. Yet to what extent this may lead to a focus on adaptation in the climate movement remains understudied. To address this gap in the literature, the current paper draws on survey data from 2,344 participants in Fridays For Future climate demonstrations in September 2019 in 13 cities in Europe, Australia and the USA. The analyses show that while one-half of the respondents still attributes greater weight to mitigation, the other half attributes equal weight to adaptation and mitigation, indicating a greater emphasis on adaptation than previously assumed. It is found that those supporting (equal focus on) adaptation experience less hope about the effectiveness of climate policies, and portray a reluctance to support far-reaching climate action. The latter indicates that support for adaptation in the climate movement is associated with conservative attitudes, indicating constraints for the emergence of a climate movement for transformational adaptation.

Small-area assessment of temperature-related mortality risks in England and Wales: a case time series analysis

Epidemiological literature on the health risks associated with non-optimal temperature has mostly reported average estimates across large areas or specific population groups. However, the heterogeneous distribution of drivers of vulnerability can result in local differences in health risks associated with heat and cold. We aimed to analyse the association between ambient air temperature and all-cause mortality across England and Wales and characterise small scale patterns in temperature-related mortality risks and impacts. We performed a country-wide small-area analysis using data on all-cause mortality and air temperature for 34 753 lower super output areas (LSOAs) within 348 local authority districts (LADs) across England and Wales between Jan 1, 2000, and Dec 31, 2019. We first performed a case time series analysis of LSOA-specific and age-specific mortality series matched with 1 × 1 km gridded temperature data using distributed lag non-linear models, and then a repeated-measure multivariate meta-regression to pool LAD-specific estimates using area-level climatological, socioeconomic, and topographical predictors. The final analysis included 10 716 879 deaths from all causes. The small-area assessment estimated that each year in England and Wales, there was on average 791 excess deaths (empirical 95% CI 611-957) attributable to heat and 60 573 (55 796-65 145) attributable to cold, corresponding to standardised excess mortality rates of 1·57 deaths (empirical 95% CI 1·21-1·90) per 100 000 person-years for heat and 122·34 deaths (112·90-131·52) per 100 000 person-years for cold. The risks increased with age and were highly heterogeneous geographically, with the minimum mortality temperature ranging from 14·9°C to 22·6°C. Heat-related mortality was higher in urban areas, whereas cold-related mortality showed a more nuanced geographical pattern and increased risk in areas with greater socioeconomic deprivation. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of excess mortality related to non-optimal outdoor temperature, with several risk indicators reported by age and multiple geographical levels. The analysis provides detailed risk maps that are useful for designing effective public health and climate policies at both local and national levels. Medical Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council, EU Horizon 2020 Programme, National Institute of Health Research.

Multi-scale politics in climate change: the mismatch of authority and capability in federalizing Nepal

ABSTRACT Nepal’s transition to federalism in 2015 involved a significant redistribution of authority across three levels of government, with a greater level of autonomy granted to provincial and local levels. We examine multi-scale climate policy and politics in Nepal, focusing on three elements that are important for policy development and implementation: (a) the authority to make decisions; (b) the knowledge and expertise to develop and implement policies; and (c) the ability to access and mobilize resources, primarily external funding, by government bodies at different levels. Our findings show that the newly decentralized local governments are constrained in their ability to develop and implement climate change-related policies and practical responses by a mismatch between the authority granted to them and existing institutional capabilities. These governmental bodies have limited opportunities to develop, access and mobilize knowledge of climate and development and financial resources, which are needed to put new policies into action. Based on this analysis, we argue that decentralization of governmental authority is not likely to produce effective climate policy outcomes if this mismatch remains unaddressed. KEY POLICY INSIGHTS The ability of the provincial and local governments in federal Nepal to respond to climate change has been constrained by a pervasive mismatch between authority granted and institutional capabilities, in terms of opportunities to access and mobilize knowledge and financial resources. The devolution of power is not adequate for effective climate change responses; rather, there is a need to strengthen the institutional capabilities and opportunities of the decentralized local governments to address climate change. Formal allocation of authority is always blurred in practice, as agencies at different levels of governance engage in power struggles within and beyond formally delineated boundaries. This suggests the need for more operational clarity on policy implementation procedures. There is a need for a clear exchange of knowledge and a flow of resources to the level where responsibilities lie to respond to climate change.

Stranded fossil-fuel assets translate to major losses for investors in advanced economies

The distribution of ownership of transition risk associated with stranded fossil-fuel assets remains poorly understood. We calculate that global stranded assets as present value of future lost profits in the upstream oil and gas sector exceed US$1 trillion under plausible changes in expectations about the effects of climate policy. We trace the equity risk ownership from 43,439 oil and gas production assets through a global equity network of 1.8 million companies to their ultimate owners. Most of the market risk falls on private investors, overwhelmingly in OECD countries, including substantial exposure through pension funds and financial markets. The ownership distribution reveals an international net transfer of more than 15% of global stranded asset risk to OECD-based investors. Rich country stakeholders therefore have a major stake in how the transition in oil and gas production is managed, as ongoing supporters of the fossil-fuel economy and potentially exposed owners of stranded assets.

Is border carbon adjustment the right tool for the power sector?

ABSTRACT Carbon leakage occurs in any carbon pricing regime that is not global, which means all of them so far. That is inherently unfair to sectors that are subject to a carbon price but compete with those that are not. The European Green Deal aims to rectify the problem in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) by moving beyond the current second (or third) best option, which allocates emissions quotas for free for industrial sectors, and by putting a price on carbon at the EU border for selected but not yet named sectors. Our recent model-based analysis compares the impact of a future border carbon adjustment (BCA) mechanism for the power sector with the option of extending the EU ETS to countries exporting power to the EU. We demonstrate how differences in the two policy tools translate into markedly different impacts. We conclude that expanding the geographical scope of the EU ETS is a more effective climate policy tool than a BCA. First, it would reduce emissions, while a BCA would not. Second, emission trading brings real competition: Regions neighbouring the EU will be better integrated into the EU single market with a level playing field and lower greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, the BCA would fence off the EU power sector and increase greenhouse gas emissions. Third, compared to a border carbon tax, expanding the ETS also yields more revenue to exporting neighbouring countries facing higher-than-average challenges to change their fossil-heavy power systems. Key policy insights The introduction of a new policy tool, the border carbon adjustment mechanism, which aims to create fair competition and trigger more ambitious climate policy action in trading partners, is a legitimate action of the European Union. However, the extension of EU ETS is a more effective climate policy tool than a border carbon adjustment mechanism as the latter increases overall emissions. The border carbon adjustment mechanism is rather a competition policy tool that provides a level playing field for electricity producers inside and outside the EU. The price impact of the policy tool choice merits attention: the extension of the EU ETS drives up prices in neighbouring countries (except the West Balkan region), but the additional quota revenues can be used to alleviate the burden on vulnerable social groups.

Determinants of emissions pathways in the coupled climate-social system.

The ambition and effectiveness of climate policies will be essential in determining greenhouse gas emissions and, as a consequence, the scale of climate change impacts1,2. However, the socio-politico-technical processes that will determine climate policy and emissions trajectories are treated as exogenous in almost all climate change modelling3,4. Here we identify relevant feedback processes documented across a range of disciplines and connect them in a stylized model of the climate-social system. An analysis of model behaviour reveals the potential for nonlinearities and tipping points that are particularly associated with connections across the individual, community, national and global scales represented. These connections can be decisive for determining policy and emissions outcomes. After partly constraining the model parameter space using observations, we simulate 100,000 possible future policy and emissions trajectories. These fall into 5 clusters with warming in 2100 ranging between 1.8 °C and 3.6 °C above the 1880-1910 average. Public perceptions of climate change, the future cost and effectiveness of mitigation technologies, and the responsiveness of political institutions emerge as important in explaining variation in emissions pathways and therefore the constraints on warming over the twenty-first century.

The policy coordinator role of national development banks in scaling climate finance: Evidence from the renewable energy sector

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the roles of national development banks (NDBs) in mobilizing climate finance for domestic renewable energy deployment by conducting a comparative analysis based on a developed country and two developing countries with NDBs, namely Germany with KfW, China with CDB, and India with IREDA. The research argues that, besides working as a direct financier and catalytic mobilizer for climate finance, NDBs can serve as a policy coordinator to amplify the effectiveness of climate policies as countries are scaling up finance for climate related programmes. NDBs play this policy coordination role through three mechanisms: 1) providing expertise and channelling market information/feedbacks to the policymaking process to advance renewable energy designs and refinement; 2) mitigating policy gaps or barriers that cannot be, or can only partially be, alleviated by existing renewable energy policies; and 3) providing a coherent and holistic basket of financial services to concentrate resources behind national priorities. The coordinator role is enabled by NDBs’ state-ownership, proximity to local markets and local contexts, and information and expertise. This study also identifies the differences of NDBs’ roles in supporting renewable energy finance between developed and developing countries. The research contributes to the existing literature by conducting a comparative analysis of NDBs in climate finance between developed and developing countries and by clarifying the role that NDBs have in empowering climate policies to facilitate investment in renewable energy. Key policy insights Governments should focus on a stable and well-designed policy framework to scale up climate finance. NDBs can then serve in a policy coordinator role to amplify the impacts of climate policies. NDBs can provide expertise and channel market information/feedbacks to advance design of climate finance policies. NDBs can mitigate barriers that cannot be, or can only partially be, alleviated by existing climate policies. NDBs can provide a coherent and holistic basket of financial services to concentrate resources behind national priorities.

The impact of climate change awareness on behavioral changes in Germany: changing minds or changing behavior?

BackgroundThe increasing frequency of extreme weather events across the globe, the intensifying international debates about the political urgency to mitigate climate change, as well as the respective more action demanding social movements have caused a significant increase in climate change awareness among the population. Little research, however, has systematically analyzed the behavioral impact of this development. Using Germany as a case study, we therefore scrutinize whether the recent increase in climate change awareness triggered mainly changes in public perceptions concerning environmental and sustainability issues or whether it has led to sustainable behavioral shifts. Based on previous research, we considered two routes through which an increase in climate change awareness can instigate changes: (a) directly by leading to behavioral changes towards more sustainable consumption decisions, or (b) indirectly by exerting pressure on the political process.ResultsThe analyzed data in the three consumption sectors of mobility, food consumption and housing confirm the continuing prevalence of an attitude–behavior gap: although there is a broad, strongly positive attitude towards climate protection and increasingly high problem awareness of climate change, so far this attitude does not immediately translate into notable behavioral changes. With regard to effects on political agenda setting, however, the effects are much more immediate. The results confirm strong pressure on the political process mainly through shifts in voter behavior.ConclusionsThe results show that the increase in climate change awareness has spurred dynamics in the debate around climate change both among the population and in the political realm. Fueled by the intense media coverage of the Fridays For Future movement and related activities, a snowball effect has been set off, opening a window of opportunity for significant shifts towards more effective and rigorous climate policies. Politicians and decision-makers now have the opportunity to implement sustainability measures with strong support of the population, even if these imply higher costs. Whether there will be further shifts in the current lifestyle towards a more sustainable one, lifestyle changes should be carefully monitored in the coming years, as relevant data are only now becoming available.

Influence of climate change on agricultural sustainability in India: A state-wise panel data analysis

Abstract. Singh AK, Kumar S, Jyoti B. 2022. Influence of climate change on agricultural sustainability in India: A State-wise panel data analysis. Asian J Agric 6: 15-27. This study developed Economic Efficiency Index (EEI), Social Equity Index (SEI) and Ecological Security Index (ESI) as an assessment of Agricultural Sustainability Index (ASI) in 17 Indian states during 1990-2017. The Composite Z-Score method was used to integrate 32 different economic, social, and ecological security factors to create ASI, EEI, SEI, and ESI. Subsequently, it examined the impact of climatic factors on ASI using linear, log-linear, and non-linear regression model through state-wise panel data during the said period. The descriptive results indicate that agricultural sustainability was positively associated with economic efficiency, social equity, and ecological security. Therefore, factors related to economic efficiency, social equity and ecological security would be helpful to improve sustainability in the Indian agricultural sector. Furthermore, there was high diversity in economic efficiency, social equity, and ecological security across the Indian state. The ratio of agriculture Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and gross irrigated area with the gross sown area, landholding size, a yield of food-grain and oilseed crops, and cropped area under food-grain crops were observed to be the most influencing factors of economic efficiency. Total literacy rate, female literacy rate and rural literate population were the most crucial factors to improve social equity. Ecological security was improved with increased forest area, pastureland and cropping intensity. Furthermore, the empirical results also showed that maximum temperature had a negative influence; and economic efficiency, social equity, and ecological security positively influenced agricultural sustainability in India. Therefore, India needs to take effective climate policy action to mitigate the negative impact of climate change in the agricultural sector and its allied activities to increase sustainable agricultural development in India. Subsequently, this study provided several policy suggestions to reduce climate change risk in the Indian agricultural sector.

Regional trade agreement burdens global carbon emissions mitigation

Regional trade agreements (RTAs) have been widely adopted to facilitate international trade and cross-border investment and promote economic development. However, ex ante measurements of the environmental effects of RTAs to date have not been well conducted. Here, we estimate the CO2 emissions burdens of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) after evaluating its economic effects. We find that trade among RCEP member countries will increase significantly and economic output will expand with the reduction of regional tariffs. However, the results show that complete tariff elimination among RCEP members would increase the yearly global CO2 emissions from fuel combustion by about 3.1%, doubling the annual average growth rate of global CO2 emissions in the last decade. The emissions in some developing members will surge. In the longer run, the burdens can be lessened to some extent by the technological spillover effects of deeper trade liberalization. We stress that technological advancement and more effective climate policies are urgently required to avoid undermining international efforts to reduce global emissions.

The pre-political origins and policy consequences of environmental justice concern.

While the effects of climate change will impact most Americans, they will likely have a disproportionate influence on the socioeconomic well-being of marginalized communities. Few researchers, however, have investigated public support for policies aimed at ameliorating climate-related disparities. Fewer still have considered how political and (critically) pre-political psychological dispositions might shape environmental justice concern (EJC) and subsequently influence policy support-both of which, I argue, could present roadblocks for effective climate communication and policy action. In this registered report, I (1) propose and validate a new measure of EJC, (2) explore its political correlates and pre-political antecedents, and (3) test for a link between EJC and policy support. In addition to psychometrically validating the EJC scale, I find that pre-political value orientations are associated with EJC, which, in turn, mediates the effects of pre-political values on taking action to mitigate the unequal effects of climate change.