A Buffer against Backlash: How the Desire for Governmental Intervention Moderates the Effect of Regulatory Depth on Climate Policy Acceptance

Systemic climate policies are essential for addressing environmental crises, but often face public resistance due to their intrusiveness. Drawing on the Integrative Public Policy Acceptance (IPAC) framework, we examine how the Desire for Governmental Intervention (DGI) shapes climate policy acceptance as a function of regulatory depth. Across two online studies (NStudy1 = 565, Nobs = 11,300; NStudy2 = 971, Nobs = 11,652), participants evaluated climate policies across multiple environmental domains. As expected, higher regulatory depth reduced policy acceptance, while higher DGI increased it. Crucially, DGI buffered the negative effect of intrusiveness: individuals with a strong DGI were more likely to accept even highly intrusive measures such as taxes or bans. This buffering effect was consistently observed, with the evidence strongest at the between-person level. These findings highlight DGI as a key motivational factor for climate policy acceptance. Strengthening this desire may be crucial for increasing public support for ambitious yet necessary systemic climate interventions.