Creating Climate Coalitions: Mass Preferences for Compensating Vulnerability in the World’s Two Largest Democracies

Combating climate change requires large economic adjustments with significant distributional implications. To build coalitions of support, scholars and policy makers propose compensating individuals who will bear decarbonization’s costs. What are the determinants public opinion regarding compensation investment? We theorize that vulnerability induce support for distinct types policy. Fielding original surveys in United States India, we show people reside coal-producing regions prefer lost jobs. The general privileges diffuse redistribution mechanisms investments, discounting to targeted groups. Those both physically economically vulnerable have cross-cutting preferences. Nevertheless, there is considerable across our samples policies compensate different climate-vulnerable citizens, line theories “just energy” transition embedded liberalism. trace distinctive compensatory preferences fossil fuel communities a logic shared community identities.