Climate change: what we’re prepared to pay

Climate change rates fairly high in the list of Aussie voter priorities, but a new survey has revealed there are limits to how much we’re prepared to pay to help fight it.

Climate change has been rated the fourth most important issue overall by Australian voters,

and a majority say they would be happy to pay extra each year to help fight it.

And of the 54 per cent in support, half said they would be prepared to commit up to $300 annually.

A hefty minority – 46 per cent – said they did not want to pay anything at all.

The results come after a year in which climate change was constantly in the headlines, either because of extreme weather events or the COP26 conference in Glasgow.

Respondents to YouGov’s nationwide survey for NewsCorp nominated cost of living as their top issue for the 2022 federal election, followed by health care, the economy and then climate change.

There was a strong age correlation, with 46 per cent of Generation Z respondents (born after 1997) nominating climate change as either their first or second priority. That proportion dropped to 37 per cent for Millennials, 27 per cent for Generation X, 28 per cent for Baby Boomers and 22 per cent for the Silent Generation (born before 1945).

ANU political scientist Dr Jill Sheppard said claims this would be a “climate change election” should be treated with scepticism.

“As much as we can walk and chew gum in everyday life, when we turn up at the ballot box usually what we’re thinking about is which party we feel closest to generally, which leader we prefer, and who feels the most competent in terms of economic management,” Dr Sheppard said. “Those other considerations like climate change … are not forefront for most voters.”

Dr Sheppard said she was surprised by the proportion of survey respondents who admitted they didn’t want to pay anything extra to tackle climate change, as people were frequently susceptible to virtue signalling in such situations.

Australian National University politics expert Dr Jill Sheppard.

Dr Jonathan Symons, senior lecturer in politics and international relations at Macquarie University.

But Macquarie University climate policy expert Dr Jonathan Symons said Australians’ willingness to accept higher living costs in order to fight climate change was “quite similar to attitudes in the US”.

“In both countries, a majority of the population would be willing to pay something, but most would prefer lower costs,” he said.

The YouGov poll “reflects a long-term trend where Australian voters are viewing climate change as an increasingly important issue,” Dr Symons said.

While younger voters felt the most strongly, concern was rising among all age groups, he said.