Replication Data for: Decarbonization and supply chains: Public support for the Thacker Pass lithium mine

Decarbonization processes are being stymied by asymmetric distribution of costs and benefits across actors. The transition imposes asymmetric costs on local communities which host the decarbonization infrastructure or supply chain. The automobile industry seeks to shift toward electric vehicles, which require lithium-based rechargeable batteries. To meet the increasing lithium demand, in the US, there is a proposal for a lithium mine in Thacker Pass, Nevada, which faces strong opposition from native nations and environmental groups. To explore public support for the proposed lithium in the local communities, we test three frames that emphasize different benefits of the proposed mine: climate policy, national security, and local economic development on a representative sample of Nevada residents (n=1,368). Overall, we find that respondents living closer to the Thacker Pass mine tend to be more supportive of the mine (YIMBY) but exposure to existing Nevada mines does not affect public support. Among the treatment frames, only the national security frame increases public support. This suggests that to navigate local public opposition, China’s domination of the lithium market as a national security challenge should be highlighted as a merit of opening mines.

脱碳进程正因各主体间成本与收益的非对称分配而受阻。能源转型给承载脱碳基础设施或供应链的当地社区带来了非对称成本。当前汽车行业正转向依赖锂基可充电电池的电动汽车。为满足日益增长的锂需求，美国内华达州塞克尔帕斯（Thacker Pass）拟开发一座锂矿，但该提案遭到原住民群体与环保组织的强烈反对。为探究当地社区对该拟议锂矿的公众支持度，我们以内华达州居民的代表性样本（n=1368）为研究对象，测试了三种分别强调该矿不同收益的叙事框架：气候政策、国家安全与地方经济发展。总体而言，我们发现居住地点距塞克尔帕斯锂矿越近的受访者，对该矿的支持度越高（即邻避主义对立面，YIMBY，Yes In My Backyard），但接触过内华达州现有锂矿的受访者，其公众支持度并未受到影响。在所有处理组叙事框架中，仅国家安全框架能提升公众对该矿的支持度。这表明，若要化解当地公众的反对声浪，应将中国主导锂市场这一国家安全层面的挑战，作为开发锂矿的优势加以强调。