Green housing and the political implications of home energy efficiency: evidence from Britain
How do housing conditions shape citizens’ support for climate and energy transition policies? Drawing on literature that understands the politics of climate change as the politics of asset ownership, we examine how housing, homeownership, and home energy efficiency shape public support for climate mitigation and adaptation policies in the United Kingdom. We analyse how individuals’ material circumstances and position within the housing market influence their policy preferences and adoption intentions. We also examine how incentive structures and choice sets differ between homeowners and renters, and how expectations about future regulatory standards, energy costs, and house prices shape attitudes and behaviour. Our novel UK survey sheds light on the nexus between housing and support for housing-targeted mitigation and adaptation policies, and among homeowners, expectations about future home values and willingness to adopt low-carbon technologies in the context of asset wealth evaluation and trade-offs.
Meet our speaker
Federica Genovese is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Oxford and a Fellow at St Antony’s College. She joined Oxford in January 2024 after nearly a decade at the University of Essex. She holds a PhD from the University of Konstanz, an MA from Johns Hopkins SAIS, and a BA from the University of Toronto. Her research explores international and comparative political economy with a particular focus on climate politics, globalisation, redistribution, and the political responses to crises in Europe. Her work has appeared in leading academic journals and with Cambridge University Press, and has been supported by organisations such as the British Academy, the Carnegie Trust, and the Leverhulme Trust. In recognition of her impactful and innovative research, she received the Philip Leverhulme Prize in 2024.
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