INSTITUTE OF PSYCHOLOGY

Carbon pricing: Analysis of the short and long-term effects of different carbon pricing options on society and the economy - research project: Regional differences and determinants of individual acceptance and rebound propensity (May 2020 - July 2023)

Team leader: Prof. Dr. Florian Kaiser
Team members: M. Sc. Ronja Gerdes, M. Sc. Emily Bauske (from 01/10/2020)
(duration of funding 01/05/2020 - 31/07/2023)

Carbon pricing could become a key instrument in achieving the climate targets for 2030. Taxation of fossil fuels for sectors not covered by EU emissions rights trading will be introduced in Germany in 2021. Therefore, an inter- and transdisciplinary project will investigate the regulation and distribution effects of different variants of carbon pricing as well as the conditions for increasing social acceptance. In the process, carbon pricing scenarios will be developed, subjected to social science analyses in the field and finally the implications of these scenarios will be modelled in micro-, macro- and system analyses. The (interim) results will be discussed with experts and citizens. The aim is to find socially acceptable solutions and to increase the acceptance of carbon pricing by communicating these solutions.

In the sub-project "Regional differences and determinants of individual acceptance and rebound propensity", the team of the OvGU Department of Personality and Social Psychology is investigating which person- and variant-specific determinants influence the acceptance of carbon pricing. In this context, the influence of environmental attitudes and CO2-pricing knowledge on acceptance will be examined. In addition, possible differences in environmental attitudes and acceptance between urban and rural as well as economically strong and economically weak regions will be investigated with the help of regional cluster surveys. In addition, the extent to which individual rebound propensity can influence the effects of carbon pricing with different redistribution mechanisms will be investigated.

Funding: BMWK - Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action

Project partners:

• Dr. Ulrich Fahl: Institute of Energy Economics and Rational Energy Use (IER), University of Stuttgart
• Dr. Michael Pahle: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) e. V.
• Dr. Stephan Sommer: RWI – Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung
• Dr. Maria Reinisch: Zivilgesellschaftliche Plattform Forschungswende (FW)