Guest Speaker Federica Genovese

Federica Genovese (Essex)

Date: Wednesday September 14, 1pm

Room: H-1252 (on the Geography side)

Title: Climate Action from Abroad: Assessing Mass Support for Cross-Border Climate Compensation

Authors: Nikhar Gaikwad, Federica Genovese, and Dustin Tingley

Short abstract: Resource transfers from developed to developing countries play a central role in international climate efforts. Countries are grappling domestically with how to transition, in part because key industries and their workers will be negatively impacted by mitigation policies. This paper investigates public opinion regarding compensation through international transfers. In samples from the United States, we explore decisions to invest in compensation domestically or for workers in India. We experimentally vary the cost of such efforts, with foreign transfers reflecting a cheaper route to achieving identical emissions reductions. We observe a home country bias, but find that support for international transfers increases when voters capture larger cost savings. In samples from India, respondents selected between a costly option that compensates domestic workers but requires proportional emissions reductions versus an option where the United States funds compensation but requires a greater than proportional reduction in Indian emissions. Respondents prefer the former.

Federica Genovese is a political scientist at the Department of Government at the University of Essex. She received her PhD from the University of Konstanz, an M.A. from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and B.A. from the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on international and comparative political economy, with particular attention to climate policy, economic interdependence, international organizations and the politics of international crises.

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