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Religiosity and climate change policies

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  • Sharma, Swati
  • Ang, James B.
  • Fredriksson, Per G.

Abstract

National climate change policies vary considerably across countries. This study explores how a country's adoption of climate change policies is influenced by its population's level of religiosity. We update and extend an existing cross-country index of climate change policy stringency. The cross-country analysis suggests that countries with populations exhibiting greater religious fervor tend to adopt less stringent climate change policies. Our findings shed new light on how a cultural dimension affects contemporary policy outcomes and may help policymakers identify obstacles to climate change policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Sharma, Swati & Ang, James B. & Fredriksson, Per G., 2021. "Religiosity and climate change policies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:101:y:2021:i:c:s0140988321003108
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2021.105414
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    Cited by:

    1. Vu, Trung V., 2021. "Do genetically fragmented societies respond less to global warming? Diversity and climate change policies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    2. Mohanty, Aatishya & Sharma, Swati, 2022. "COVID-19 regulations, culture, and the environment," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    3. Lestari Agusalim & Muhamad Karim, 2024. "How Religiosity Affect Climate Change? A Cross-Country Analysis," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(1), pages 150-164, January.
    4. Leslie, Gordon W. & Pourkhanali, Armin & Roger, Guillaume, 2022. "Electricity consumption, ethnic origin and religion," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    5. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell, 2022. "Protestantism and energy poverty," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    6. Li, Jiajia & Li, Houjian, 2022. "Spiritual support or living support: Which alleviates solid fuel use for rural households in ethnical minority regions of China?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 479-491.
    7. Tadadjeu, Sosson & Njangang, Henri & Woldemichael, Andinet, 2023. "Are resource-rich countries less responsive to global warming? Oil wealth and climate change policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    8. Abdulla, Eman & Lim, King Yoong & Morris, Diego & Saliba, Faten, 2022. "Climate Change, Gender Equality, and Firm-Level Innovation : Cross-Country Evidence," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1429, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    9. Iyer, S. & Iljina, K. & Shastry, K., 2024. "Religion, Population and the Environment," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2450, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    10. Per G. Fredriksson & Aatishya Mohanty, 2022. "COVID-19 Regulations, Political Institutions, and the Environment," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 81(2), pages 323-353, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate change; Environment; Policy; International cooperation; Religion; Culture;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K23 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Regulated Industries and Administrative Law
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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