Energy Prices and the Political Economy of the Energy Transition in the EU

• In Event: Poster Session: Political Economy

Abstract

Do changes in energy prices impact individuals’ attitudes towards the energy transition? Global energy markets are highly interconnected, making them a source of globalization that can impact public policy preferences. Shifts in energy prices due to the energy transition, global supply shocks, or more recently, or other crises (e.g. the invasion of Ukraine) impact household energy expenditures, costs of living and income. A key question is how individuals will react to shifts in energy prices: will this affect environmental concern, the public support of climate and energy policies, or other political attitudes? Which regions and social groups are more likely to be affected and respond more? I study changes in attitudes in the time-frame of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which led to a drastic increase in energy prices. I combine energy price data with geographical variation in exposure and individual-level data on public attitudes to answer this question. The focus in on the EU, which in 2020 imported 57% of the energy it consumed, 24.4% coming from Russia.

Author

• Ireri Hernandez Carballo, Bocconi University