What Drives Politicians to Act on Climate? A Cross-National Field Experiment

• In Event: Experiments in Elite Behavior

Abstract

This paper explores the motivations of elected officials to act on climate. We argue that (1) biased beliefs about voter preferences, (2) the time horizon for credit claiming, and (3) source credibility shape the willingness of representatives to learn and adopt new environmental policies. We test these arguments in a collaborative field experiment. Local officials in the United States and in the United Kingdom are invited to take part in a webinar on net zero policies hosted by climate scientists. We explore whether providing local-level public opinion on climate policy support and emphasizing the short-term effects of net zero initiatives induces representatives to learn and adopt new policies. Additionally, we manipulate whether the invitation is sent by the advocacy group promoting the webinar, or by one of the councilmembers hosting it. The results help us understand the prospects of climate action and more broadly the dynamics of policy learning.

Authors

• Miguel Maria Pereira, Washington University in St. Louis

• Maria Dominguez-Perez, Univeraity of Southern California

• Kaya Axelsson, University of Oxford