Understanding the Policy Features That Affect Indians’ Support for India’s 2070 Net-Zero Goal

In 2021, the Indian government announced the goal of net-zero carbon emissions in India by 2070. India’s vulnerability to climate impacts and central role in reducing global emissions make it essential to understand the policy features that affect Indians’ support for the 2070 goal. We conducted a conjoint experiment (N = 1,500) to test Indians’ support for the 2070 goal depending on differences among possible policy features including economic programs, allocation of funds collected via coal taxes, policies to mitigate pollution, who participates in the policy-making process, and adaptation policy. We find that Indians express stronger support for the 2070 goal when it includes jobs programs for Indians who lose their job in a coal-fired power plant, policies to mitigate pollution, investment or redistribution of funds collected via coal taxes, and adaptation policies to protect the most vulnerable Indians and critical infrastructure. Support for certain policy features varies depending on income, education, and caste.