Societies worldwide have started their transition toward a fossil free future, but the process is not without conflict. One reason for conflict is that certain foundational values and interests – such as of freedom, care, and solidarity – risk being neglected or frustrated in this transition.
We know from historical large-scale transformations that the direction, speed, and transitional costs of change feed opposition. Since such opposition has often been grounded in conservative ideology, this project aims to investigate the relation between conservatism and a just and effective transition to a low-carbon future. In doing so, the project aims to answer the following research questions:
- What are the ethical principles of conservative ideology?
- What climate policy recommendations can be derived from these principles?
- How are these ethical principles and climate policy recommendations perceived by adherents of different ideologies, including conservatism?
- How does conservatism function as an ideology and identity in resistance to climate action?
The project will employ methods from philosophy, political science and psychology, with the purpose of determining whether, and how, conservative principles can support an effective and just low-carbon transition. The project thus also has a practical goal: to remove unfounded ideological stumbling blocks to the low-carbon transition
