Linking climate policy with social policy makes it more popular

Based on Parrish Bergquist, Matto Mildenberger, and Leah C. Stokes. 2020. “How combining climate policy with economic and social reforms increases support for climate action.” Environmental Research Letters 15(5): 054019.

The political logic behind the Green New Deal makes climate policy more popular among Democrats without turning off Republicans.

The Policy Problem

US climate policymaking remains gridlocked. In a bid to break this impasse, some politicians want to link climate policy to social and economic reforms. From this perspective, linked policies can build stronger political coalitions in favor of climate reforms, while addressing the fundamentally interconnected nature of social, environmental and economic inequalities. This assumption is central to proposals for a Green New Deal. But does the assumption hold in practice?

Key Findings and Proposed Solutions

  • Linking climate policy with social and economic reforms makes climate action more popular with the public

  • Policy bundling increases support significantly among Democrats (mostly) without reducing Republican support

  • Linking climate and social policies is particularly important for people of color