Are wars abroad and economic anxiety at home crowding out Kiwis zeal for more climate policies?

Summarised by Centrist

New Zealand’s climate consensus appears to be weakening, with new election study data showing support for stronger climate policy fell from more than 60 per cent in 2020 to 50.4 per cent in 2023. 

Sam Crawley, a teaching fellow at the University of Wellington,  argues the bigger shift is the growing divide between left and right on the issue.  

Crawly writes that support among right-leaning voters is dropping sharply, and the ideological gap on whether climate change is mostly caused by humans is widening from 31 points to 46 points.

One reason may be that climate concerns are being crowded out by more immediate pressures. “World and national events, including the Iran war, the fuel crisis, and growing economic anxiety” can leave less room for climate on people’s priority lists, he writes. 

The cost of living can feel far more pressing than a long-term environmental problem, even for voters who broadly accept the science.

He also argues that climate change has become tied up in the wider culture wars across the West, alongside issues such as immigration, LGBTQI+ rights, and gender equality. This makes support for climate policies more polarised and harder to rebuild. 

Crawley suggests New Zealand is following a global trend, and that public support for climate action may have peaked in 2020. 

If that is the case, then pushing through ambitious climate policy in New Zealand is likely to become more politically difficult.  

Read more over at Newsroom

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