Public support for carbon taxation in Turkey: drivers and barriers

Abstract

The Paris Agreement aims to limit the increase in the global mean temperature to well below 2 degrees C to avoid the severe impacts of climate change. To achieve this target, mitigation efforts in emerging economies through carbon pricing are critical, as they are cost effective and generate revenue. However, carbon pricing policies may not be politically feasible owing to low levels of public support. Therefore, investigation of the factors that affect public support for carbon pricing is crucial. Through a face-to-face survey of a representative sample of the Turkish population, we provide evidence for the drivers of, and barriers to, public support for one form of carbon pricing, that is, a potential carbon taxation. Our results suggest that there are numerous factors influencing support for carbon taxation. Among these, awareness of global warming, the perception of the effectiveness of carbon taxation, and carbon taxation adopted by other countries are the most important factors in terms of their marginal effect on support for the policy. If people have heard about global warming, they are more likely to support carbon taxation. The perception that carbon taxation is an effective policy to address climate change leads to increased public support. Moreover, the presence of carbon taxation in other countries positively influences support. However, an unanticipated result is that the use of carbon taxation revenues for mitigation and adaptation projects is not a statistically significant factor influencing public support. The reason for this may be the perception of the effectiveness of carbon taxation. Key policy insights The perception that carbon taxation is an effective policy for decreasing the use of energy and addressing climate change increases public support for the policy. Concerns about global air pollution and climate change make the public more supportive of carbon taxation. The implementation of carbon taxation by other countries leads to greater public support for such a policy. However, concerns related to competitiveness and the regressive nature of carbon taxation negatively affect support. In contrast with the literature, an interesting finding is that the use of taxation revenues for mitigation and adaptation projects has no statistically significant impact on support.