Exclusive: From solar subsidies to meat taxes, minority rightwing voices appear to drown out the consensus
“T
here may have been a silent majority in favour of windfarms and higher petrol taxes, but if there was, these people were mighty quiet. Essentially, all I ever heard from was people objecting to them.” That was the view of a former UK MP who took part in new research that reveals how significantly British and Belgian politicians underestimate the public’s support for climate action.
From solar power and energy efficiency to meat taxes and frequent flyer levies, the politicians consistently failed to appreciate people’s appetite for policies that tackle global heating. The misapprehension has real world consequences: those politicians were less willing to vote for or speak up for those policies, according to the study.
The good news was that when a group of the politicians were told the true level of polling support for some policies, this improved their estimates of support for other green policies. However, it did not correct the underestimates completely, indicating that the information the politicians used to form their views of public opinion are misleading.
