Replication Data for: Constant Carbon Pricing Increases Support for Climate Action Compared to Ramping Up Costs Over Time

Introducing policies that increase the price of carbon is central to limiting the adverse effects of global warming. Conventional wisdom holds that gradually raising the costs of climate action will maximize public support relative to other cost paths. Here we explore mass support for dynamic cost paths in four major economies (France, Germany, United Kingdom, and United States). We find that for a given level of average costs, increasing cost paths receive little support while a constant cost schedule is backed by majorities in all countries irrespective of whether those average costs are low or high. Experimental evidence indicates that constant cost paths significantly reduce opposition to climate action relative to increasing cost paths. Preferences for climate cost paths are related to individuals’ time horizons and the desire to smooth consumption over time.