Ukrainians and climate policies: What are Ukrainians’ preferences for using carbon
revenues?
The paper presents the understanding of and attitudes towards climate change and climate
policies in Ukraine, using a survey on a representative sample of more than 1 500
Ukrainians. The survey was carried out between October 2021 and February 2022 and
presents the situation before Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine. The survey
tests support for three main climate policies in detail: a green infrastructure programme,
a carbon tax with cash transfers and a ban on combustion-engine cars. It shows that
support for climate policies depends on three key factors: how people perceive the
effectiveness of the policies in reducing emissions, how they perceive distributional
impacts on lower-income households (inequality concerns), and if they think their
household will gain or lose from the policy. The survey also shows that when citizens
receive information that specifically addresses these concerns, they exhibit stronger
support for the policy. How the policy is designed also matters: Ukrainians widely
accept a carbon tax when its revenues finance green investments and/or compensate
lower-income households. The paper highlights seven considerations for Ukraine policymakers
to design measures that are effective and supported by citizens. Following Russia’s
war of aggression and once conditions are right, Ukrainian policymakers can also use
the survey results to guide the reform of the environmental tax system- one of the
goals in Ukraine’s recovery and reform agenda.
The survey in Ukraine that the paper describes was conducted as part of a large-scale
OECD international survey of attitudes toward climate policies carried out on over
40 000 respondents in twenty countries.
Available from December 15, 2023
In series:OECD Environment Working Papersview more titles