Leading by example: spillover effects of municipal climate protection leadership on citizens’ climate protection activities

This study investigates the causal effects of highlighting municipal climate protection leadership on citizens’ pro-climate activities, as reflected by their stated willingness-to-pay to offset their carbon footprint (WTPO). It further examines whether the effects of receiving information about municipal climate protection leadership on citizens’ WTPO vary by socio-demographic characteristics. The empirical analysis employs a survey implemented in 2021 among citizens in the metropolitan area of Grenoble (France), the recipient of the 2022 European Green Capital Award. The survey included a randomized experiment where about half the participants were informed about Grenoble’s climate protection performance and the city’s recognition as European Green Capital whereas the other half did not receive this information nudge. Results based on estimating Tobit models suggest that participants who received this information intend to pay about 25% more to offset their carbon footprint than participants who did not receive this information. The findings further imply that this effect is stronger for younger and for less affluent participants in the sample. By signaling their climate protection leadership, municipalities may encourage unengaged citizens to participate in climate protection activities and motivate those already involved to increase their efforts.