building support for action on climate change and fairness natan doron the fabian society
TRANSCRIPT
Building support for action on climate change and fairness
Natan DoronThe Fabian Society
Contents
• Why is public support important?• Why fairness and what is it?• Fairness applied to climate change• Key messages from the research• What this means for policy (with a couple of
examples)
Why is public support important?
• Democracy is more than an exercise in voting
Why is public support important?
• Democracy is more than an exercise in voting• Unpopular policies are vulnerable to
opposition and ripe for U-turns
Why is public support important?
• Democracy is more than an exercise in voting• Unpopular policies are vulnerable to
opposition and ripe for U-turns• Lack of public support can lead to policy not
surviving electoral cycles
Why is public support important?
Why is public support important?• Democracy is more than an exercise in voting• Unpopular policies are vulnerable to
opposition and ripe for U-turns• Lack of public support can lead to policy not
surviving electoral cycles• Instability of policy can crowd out necessary
private sector investment
Why is public support important?• Democracy is more than an exercise in voting• Unpopular policies are vulnerable to opposition
and ripe for U-turns• Lack of public support can lead to policy not
surviving electoral cycles• Instability of policy can crowd out necessary
private sector investment• If we need to rely heavily on behaviour change,
we have to lay the groundwork now
Why fairness and what is it?
• Some of the greatest burdens placed upon citizens are supported because they are accepted as legitimate and fair
Why fairness and what is it?
• Some of the greatest burdens placed upon citizens are supported because they are accepted as legitimate and fair
• Tax
Why fairness and what is it?
• Some of the greatest burdens placed upon citizens are supported because they are accepted as legitimate and fair
• Tax• Military service
Why fairness and what is it?
• Some of the greatest burdens placed upon citizens are supported because they are accepted as legitimate and fair
• Tax• Military service• Recycling
Why fairness and what is it?
Politically influential demographic groups seem resistant to interventions to promote sustainable consumption…
…and seem to regard such interventions as unfair…
…despite the fact that the same groups demonstrate strongly pro-social sentiments in other areas of behaviour…
Fairness applied to climate change
Fairness applied to climate change• Thinking of climate change as a public good
that can only be addressed by cooperation
Fairness applied to climate change• Thinking of climate change as a public good
that can only be addressed by cooperation• The model we developed for approaching
environmental issues from a fairness perspective involves people understanding three key components of information
Key messages
1. Fairness and citizenship can drive support for sustainable consumption – but only if people understand the social context of behaviour
People who are on higher incomes and are polluting are acting socially irresponsible and therefore in a sense being unfair to their fellow citizens [Male, Glasgow]
2. Ensuring everyone cooperates is key for fairness – so regulation and enforcement can be crucial in building public support for behaviour change
Everyone’s main concern is that it has got to be one rule, it has got to be one rule for everybody [Female, Coventry]
Key messages
3. People want to feel as if they are cooperating in an endeavour; even if compulsion is used, people want measures to target the product or activity rather than the individual
Key messages
4. People think sustainability policies should be progressive: the greatest burdens of behavour change should be on those with the greatest ability to reduce their consumption...
Well...richer people can afford to have treble glazing. Poorer people, who have those landlords...forget it – they’re not going to put treble glazing in any windows [Female, Central London]
Key messages
5. ‘Economic’ approaches, though supported in some contexts, are often seen to fail the fairness test
I think it’s unfair on pensioners and students because they’re not in a position to pay. If you’re on low income you haven’t got the ability to make a choice, which is different to if you’ve got the money and you decide [Female, Barnet]
Key messages
6. Link the argument for behaviour change to the moral and policy arguments for sustainabilty
People need to get some facts and see what is happening around them...they need to realise the impact it’s and accept responsibility [Female, Llanelli]
Key messages
7. Understanding the difference between people liking a policy and people supporting a policy because they see it as legitimate
Well, I wouldn’t like doing it. I would have to make changes that I wouldn’t like, but I feel that it’s necessary and it seems fair to me [Female, Glasgow]
Key messages
Paying extra for water
Paying extra for water
Food waste
Food waste
Food waste
Discussions
• If you’d like to follow up on any of the information in this presentation please contact [email protected]