Policy- v. individual heterogeneity in the benefits of climate change mitigation: Evidence from a stated-preference survey

We use stated preference methods to investigate the public's preferences for decarbonization policies. We ask three research questions. First, does the willingness to pay (WTP) for each ton of CO2 emissions reductions depend on the policies and on individual characteristics of the respondents? Second, how extensive is the variation associated with these factors? Third, what factors affect support for or opposition to a carbon tax? Based on the responses to discrete choice experiments from a sample of Italians, we find that the WTP per ton of CO2 ranges between zero and €230. The variation associated with the policy instrument is approximately of the same order of magnitude as that associated with individual characteristics of the respondents.