Majority of People Around The World Support a Carbon Tax
- Editor OGN Daily
- Jun 27
- 2 min read
Even in the U.S., where the policy was least popular, half of those surveyed said they would support a climate tax that redistributes wealth.
People in affluent countries around the world are willing to tax themselves to address climate change and ease poverty. That idea defies conventional political wisdom, which typically holds that people hate taxes.
It emerged in a survey of 40,680 people in 20 nations that found strong support for a carbon tax that would transfer wealth from the worst polluters to people in developing nations. Most of them support such policies even if it takes money out of their own pocket.
Japan showed the highest support, with 94 percent of respondents backing the idea of linking policies that combat inequality and climate change. In contrast, support ran as high as 75 percent across the European Union.
“We found that people in high-income countries are willing to let go of some purchasing power, if they can be sure that it solves climate change and global poverty,” said Adrian Fabre, lead author of the study published in Nature. Fabre also said that he wasn’t surprised by the results. He studies public attitudes toward climate policy at the International Center for Research on Environment and Development in Paris, and said this is the latest in a long line of studies showing that climate-related economic policies enjoy greater support, on the whole, than people assume.
Regardless of whether carbon pricing is the answer to the world’s climate woes, the fact that people are more supportive of climate policies that also fight poverty is telling.
