Energy policy preferences in times of crisis:evidence from survey experiments in the UK

Understanding public support for energy policy is crucial for designing feasible interventions to mitigate climate change and reach net-zero goals. This is particularly the case given the increased salience surrounding energy policy in light of the major disruptions to global energy markets generated by the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Combining framing and conjoint experiments, I examine how framing and policy design shape public support for energy policy responses to this crisis in the UK. Results show that the public has strong preferences over specific policy features, supporting investment in renewables, reductions of energy imports from Russia and non-democracies, and policies that shield vulnerable groups. While security framing increases support for energy policy, its effect is smaller than that of policy design, and it has little impact on policy design preferences overall. The findings suggest that substantive policy designs remain crucial for generating public acceptance of energy policy, even in times of crisis.