2227 - INDIVIDUAL- AND SYSTEM-LEVEL EFFECTS OF ECONOMIC AND BEHAVIOURAL CLIMATE POLICY COUPLING

Session: D04S024 - Policy & Governance 3
AUTHORS:
Günther Anne (University of Basel ~ Basel ~ Switzerland) , Van Der Kam Marten (University of Basel ~ Basel ~ Switzerland) , Hadian Rasanan Amir Hosein (University of Basel ~ Basel ~ Switzerland) , Gluth Sebastian (University of Hamburg ~ Hamburg ~ Germany) , Hahnel Ulf (Leuphana University ~ Lüneburg ~ Germany)
Abstract text:
Policy coupling can accelerate demand-side climate mitigation strategies, such as the shift to electric vehicles. Yet, a holistic understanding of joint policy effects at the individual and system levels remains limited. Here, we combine choice experiments and attention process tracing with system-level modelling to examine how a carbon tax and climate information intervention - individually and combined - influence people's attention and decisions, electric vehicle diffusion, and public policy support. Our findings based on data from four culturally-diverse countries (Mexico, South Africa, USA, UK; N=1,589) show that policies competed for attention but had additive effects on adoption decisions. Integrating the empirical data into an agent-based model showed that combined interventions can, however, have superadditive system-level effects depending on diffusion stage. Finally, support for tax-inclusive policy packages was higher when coupled with climate information policies. Our findings show that policy coupling can enhance impact, depending on diffusion stage, target population, and national context.