Attitudes to Personal Carbon Allowances

Magazine article, 2011

A personal carbon allowance (PCA) scheme targets emissions from individual consumption and allocates allowances directly to individuals by dividing the carbon budget on a per capita basis. In this study we analyze the results of a survey sent out to a representative sample of the Swedish population regarding attitudes to a potential PCA scheme. The distinctive design of a PCA scheme is likely to give rise to specific factors affecting individuals‟ attitudes, such as the perceived fairness of the allocation of allowances and corresponding redistribution of wealth, as well as the perceived complexity of the scheme. We perform an ordered probit analysis with attitude to PCAs as the dependent variable, controlling for a number of variables potentially affecting such attitudes. Interestingly, our findings indicate that the most important variable explaining attitudes to the scheme is the perception of respondents that this type of policy instrument seems very complex.