--- title: Inflation May Make People Less Likely to Back Climate Policy description: Only 38% of Americans would be willing to pay $1 per month to address climate change, according to new polling released Tuesday. canonical: https://time.com/6270304/climate-risk-inflation/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-04-11T16:16:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:15:00.620Z article:section: Climate og:title: Inflation May Make People Less Likely to Back Climate Policy og:description: A new poll shows only 38% of Americans would be willing to pay $1 per month to address climate change og:url: https://time.com/6270304/climate-risk-inflation/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f892b9610a366b/698a3bed929fad3439bf9bcd/exxon-gas.prices-inflation.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: exxon-gas.prices-inflation.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Inflation May Make People Less Likely to Back Climate Policy twitter:description: A new poll shows only 38% of Americans would be willing to pay $1 per month to address climate change twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f892b9610a366b/698a3bed929fad3439bf9bcd/exxon-gas.prices-inflation.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 03:25 video:published: 2023-04-11 section: business topics: global economy, inflation, interest rates, banking instability, economic growth forecast, monetary policy, financial stability, supply chain disruptions, geo-economic fragmentation, medium-term growth genre: news, economic analysis tones: cautious, serious, analytical emotions: concern (medium), caution (medium), reassurance (low) sentiment: negative audience: investors, economists, policymakers, business readers, general news audience organizations: International Monetary Fund, People's Bank of China content_suitability: financial distress [01:22-02:15]; war [00:00-00:18] transcript_source: automatic transcription transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Inflation May Make People Less Likely to Back Climate Policy > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=0a482155-b5d3-4e7f-ad69-2087a78e140b&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Inflation and Banking Woes Dim Outlook for Global Economy, IMF Says [Watch (HLS stream): Inflation and Banking Woes Dim Outlook for Global Economy, IMF Says](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/AxHTS3Qo.m3u8) (3:25)  _Published 2023-04-11. The outlook for the world economy this year has dimmed in the face of chronically high inflation, rising interest rates and uncertainties resulting from the collapse of two big American banks._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary An International Monetary Fund forecast presents a global economy on a gradual recovery path from the pandemic and Russia's war on Ukraine, with growth bottoming at 2.8 percent this year. It argues inflation is stickier than expected and that financial stability risks have emerged from policy tightening and recent banking instability. The speaker warns of downside risks, calls for monetary policy focused on inflation with readiness to adjust, and links slowing medium-term growth to scarring, slower reforms and geo-economic fragmentation. ## Key points - The global economy remains on track for a gradual recovery from the pandemic and Russia's war on Ukraine. (00:00) - China's reopened economy is rebounding strongly, and supply chain disruptions are unwinding. (00:07) - Global growth will bottom out at 2.8 percent this year, rising modestly to 3 percent next year. (00:32) - Core inflation, excluding energy and food prices, has still not peaked in many countries and is expected to decline to 6.2 percent this year. (01:10) - Rapid policy tightening last year triggered sizable losses on long fixed assets and increased bank funding costs. (01:34) - Monetary policy should remain focused on bringing inflation down, while standing ready to adjust as financial developments demand. (02:15) - Five-year-ahead growth projections declined steadily from 4.9 percent in 2011 to 3 percent this year. (02:37) - Geo-economic fragmentation threatens to cause more trade tensions, less direct investment, and slower technology adoption and innovation. (02:44) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:45] Gradual recovery and forecast figures. The speaker outlines the economic recovery, China's rebound, easing supply disruptions, and the revised global growth forecast. - [00:45 to 01:58] Stickier inflation and financial risks. The speaker explains that inflation is proving stickier than expected and that tightening has created financial sector vulnerabilities. - [01:58 to 02:29] Policy guidance for a tricky phase. The speaker argues policymakers need a steady hand, with monetary policy focused on inflation while ready to respond to financial developments. - [02:29 to 03:25] Medium-term slowdown and fragmentation. The speaker describes declining medium-term growth projections and the risks posed by the pandemic's scarring, slower reforms, and geo-economic fragmentation. ## Key quotes - [01:58] IMF speaker: "Policymakers will need a steady hand and clear communication." - [02:44] IMF speaker: "Growth slows as countries converge." - [03:12] IMF speaker: "We must avoid that path at all costs." - [00:54] IMF speaker: "Once again, downside risks dominate." ## Questions this video answers - What is the IMF's latest forecast for global growth this year and next? [00:32] - Why is inflation proving harder to bring down than expected? [00:58] - What financial sector risks have emerged from policy tightening? [01:22] - What should monetary policymakers prioritize during this phase? [02:15] - What forces are behind the slowdown in medium-term growth projections? [02:37] ## Content suitability - financial distress [01:22-02:15]: Discusses bank instability, losses on fixed assets and financial sector vulnerabilities. - war [00:00-00:18]: Mentions Russia's war on Ukraine as a driver of economic disruption.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Apr 11, 2023 4:16 PM UTC The outlook for the world economy this year has dimmed in the face of chronically high inflation, rising interest rates and uncertainties resulting from the collapse of two big American banks.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Apr 11, 2023 4:16 PM UTC The last couple of years have brought a long list of headlines that should alarm anyone concerned about the changing climate, from the growing number of [climate-linked disasters](https://time.com/6209967/pakistan-floods-what-to-know/) to the resilient [growth in oil and gas](https://time.com/6254086/fossil-fuel-2022-revenue-vs-country-gdp/). But beneath those headlines another apparent trend should alarm anyone advocating for climate policy: economic conditions may be making people less willing to pay to tackle climate change. Only 38% of Americans would be willing to pay a $1 per month carbon fee to address climate change, according to [new polling](https://apnorc.org/projects/americans-views-on-climate-energy-policy-and-electric-vehicles/) released Tuesday from the AP-NORC Center and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. That’s the lowest level of support since the poll began in 2016, and it represents a 14 percentage point decline since 2021, the last year the poll was conducted. A smaller share of respondents said they would be willing to pay higher amounts. The survey found that just over 20%, for example, would pay $100\. Though the poll didn’t delve into the reasoning behind this particular shift, it’s easy to surmise how economic conditions might reduce Americans’ willingness to pay to address climate change. Last year, the consumer-price index, which measures what consumers pay for goods and services, showed a significant spike in costs, with prices at least 6% higher than the year prior in every month of the year—and at some points significantly higher than that. Meanwhile, volatility in the stock market has rattled consumers with large savings. Trepidation about the costs isn’t just reflected in polling, it’s a reality seemingly borne out on the ground, too. In late March, Berlin voters failed to pass a referendum that would have committed the city to eliminating its carbon foot print by 2030, with some commentators citing concerns about cost as an explanation for why the typically left-leaning city would reject such a measure. (Berlin apartment [rental prices, for example, have risen dramatically](https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/04/08/vwcw-a08.html) in recent months). Last year, I saw this dynamic in San Diego in response to a [new policy to create a modest fee for using the roads](https://time.com/6154394/la-mesa-election-climate-change-san-diego/). The policy was designed to make up for the government revenue that would be lost as more drivers switched to electric vehicles and stopped paying the gas tax while also encouraging drivers to consider public transit. The backlash was visible in every corner of the region. I visited an anti-road usage fee rally in one suburb. In another suburb, this one reliably blue, I met with Laura Lothian, a Trump supporter who was recently elected to the La Mesa city council on the basis of opposition to the road usage fee. “This issue brought out everybody—and it changed things,” Lothian told me. Many elected officials—including in the Biden Administration—have tried to get ahead of such concerns by framing their climate policy around easily digestible economic messaging. The [Inflation Reduction Act](https://time.com/6204582/inflation-reduction-act-climate-change/) (IRA) relied largely on incentives rather than penalties to reduce emissions. That is, the law gives out money to reduce the cost of everything from renewable energy to electric vehicles to clean household appliances while doing little to raise the costs. This has a strong political logic, avoiding the pitfalls of policies that might raise costs. Corporations have little reason to fight policies that actually give them money to reduce emissions, and, of course, consumers don’t mind the cheaper goods. Indeed, in the same AP-NORC poll that showed a declining willingness to pay for climate change, more than 7 in 10 respondents said that they would consider switching to an electric vehicle to save on gas. The IRA may avoid the risks posed to other climate policies that raise costs for consumers—think of carbon taxes and other prices on emissions. But there’s one big problem: most estimates of the law’s impact suggest that it will leave the U.S. around 10 percentage points short of the Biden administration’s emissions-reduction goals. Meeting that target might require policies that rock the boat—and raise costs. None of this should suggest that government shouldn’t pursue climate policy further and that businesses should stop emissions-reduction programs in their tracks. Indeed, research has shown time and again that action now will protect our economic wellbeing in the future. An [analysis](https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2022/04/04/quantifying-risks-to-the-federal-budget-from-climate-change/) from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, which manages federal budget issues, found that climate change could make U.S. GDP 10% lower than it would be otherwise by the end of the century. And, while the cost of transitioning the world to clean energy measures in the trillions annually, that money acts as an investment that creates jobs and generates revenue for countries. But, even with that clear economic logic, concerns about the immediate cost to individuals should serve as an omen: to enjoy continued support, climate policy needs to be socially sustainable. Todd Gloria, the Democratic mayor of San Diego, explained the challenges of having to thread the needle with the road-usage fee. “There’s a tension with implementing this plan at a rate that people can accept, against the backdrop of the climate crisis, of economic challenges and other externalities,” said Gloria, who supported the road-usage fee before reversing his position amid the backlash. “People often are fearful of change, and they often resist it until they can see it.” It’s a useful lesson not just for San Diego, but for democratically elected policymakers everywhere. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6270304/climate-risk-inflation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6270304/climate-risk-inflation/"},"headline":"Inflation May Make People Less Likely to Back Climate Policy","datePublished":"2023-04-11T16:16:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T07:15:00.620Z","description":"Only 38% of Americans would be willing to pay $1 per month to address climate change, according to new polling released Tuesday.","url":"https://time.com/6270304/climate-risk-inflation/","keywords":["Economy","climate change","healthscienceclimate","Climate Is Everything"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f892b9610a366b/698a3bed929fad3439bf9bcd/exxon-gas.prices-inflation.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f892b9610a366b/698a3bed929fad3439bf9bcd/exxon-gas.prices-inflation.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"exxon-gas.prices-inflation.jpg","caption":"High gas prices at an ExxonMobil gas station","creditText":"Win McNamee—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/economy/","name":"Economy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6270304/climate-risk-inflation/","name":"Inflation May Make People Less Likely to Back Climate Policy"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Inflation and Banking Woes Dim Outlook for Global Economy, IMF Says","description":"The outlook for the world economy this year has dimmed in the face of chronically high inflation, rising interest rates and uncertainties resulting from the collapse of two big American banks.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/AxHTS3Qo/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-04-11T15:34:18.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/AxHTS3Qo.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6270304/climate-risk-inflation/","duration":"PT3M25S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6270304/climate-risk-inflation/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```