Enforced Policies

A new study conducted in Germany has found that while the idea of adopting eco-friendly lifestyle practices is generally popular, it’s substantially less so if those practices are mandatory rather than voluntary.

Said another way, people like the idea of going green, but only if they choose to do so.

This study was premised on a survey conducted on more than 3,300 German citizens, and it found that people generally have negative responses to anything that might “restrict freedom,” including their ability to choose whether to adopt carbon-neutral lifestyle choices or not.

The researchers found that this effect—which is a variation of the “Crowding Out Effect,” which sees government efforts accidentally reducing public efforts, causing event popular policies to fail when centrally supported—is 52% stronger for climate policies than others, like those related to Covid-19 restrictions (which is saying something, as pushback against government mandates during the height of the pandemic was substantial).