Exciting new research shows ways to defuse the "green backlash"

There is growing opposition to environmental policies around the world, but could researchers have found a way around this, asks Graham Lawton

I have written before about the outcry in my home city of York, UK, when the council announced plans to increase parking fees to discourage people from driving on our polluted streets. In case you were wondering, the council eventually caved in to opposition and hiked fees by a lot less than it had originally wanted.

This is a good example of “green backlash” – the term given to the growing tide of opposition to pro-environmental policies in high-income countries. This often goes hand in hand with rising support for right-wing populist parties such as Reform in the UK, which cynically stoke and exploit it for electoral gain. It works: Reform leads recent polls asking UK voters which party they plan to support at the next general election.

Cover photo:  Disaffection with climate policies has two root causes: economic and cultural