Paper is available via open access here: doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...

The takeaway for climate policy: subsidies and green investment don't trigger backlash from at-risk workers the way carbon taxes do. If you want durable climate coalitions, policy design matters — especially as automation keeps reshaping who feels economically secure.

Results hold with multiple measures of automation exposure (Frey-Osborne, RTI, job-based), with IV estimates using foreign robot adoption as an instrument, and with a variety of fixed effects.

People facing long-term job risk ultimately oppose policies that pile visible costs on top of their economic vulnerability.

Using ESS data (2002–2018) across 23 European countries, we find that workers in more automatable occupations are significantly less concerned about the environment and automation risk hits support for carbon taxes hard. In contrast, support for green subsidies is unaffected by automation risk.

The economy-environment tradeoff literature has found mixed results — recessions don't consistently tank green support. But we argue automation is different. It's not a temporary shock. It's a structural shift that permanently changes how people see their economic future.

New paper out in Ecological Economics with @gonzalezrostani.bsky.social and @aklin.bsky.social! We look at how long-term labor market risk from automation shapes people's environmental attitudes and climate policy preferences 🧵

LSE Sustainable Social Policy Workshop 2026 The Sustainable Social Policy and Welfare States Research Hub at the London School of Economics and Political Science is hosting its second annual workshop on Tuesday 2nd June 2026. The workshop aim...

📣 CfP for 2nd Annual Workshop on Sustainable Social Policy

Workshop: Tue 2 Jun 2026 (London).

Submit 500-word abstract by Mon 9 Mar 2026: forms.gle/VLEZ81n72QCy...

www.lse.ac.uk/social-polic...

Open-access publication available here: doi.org/10.1016/j.en...

Energy vulnerability doesn't just create demand for bill support — it potentially generates new policy coalitions around climate investment and social protection.

Additionally, whether you EXPECT to struggle with energy bills next year is more important than whether you struggled last year.

Forward-looking anxiety drives policy preferences more than past hardship.

While they want immediate economic relief, investments that focus on root causes (i.e. energy dependence) are acceptable

There's a divergence when considering climate and social polciy preferences

For climate policy: Energy insecure citizens prioritize INVESTMENT over compensation

For social policy: They want COMPENSATION over investment

Energy insecure households are more likely to support both compensation (bill support) and investment (renewables) energy policies.

But the spillovers to other issue areas get interesting...

To better understand these results Fig. 3 displays how the association between individuals’ energy insecurity and climate policy preferences translates into overall support for each policy type. Similar to Fig. 2 we see that those experiencing and expecting energy insecurity have almost identical policy preferences. However, unlike the results for energy pol- icy, we also see that achieving majority support for a policy type depends upon energy insecurity. We see that there is only a significant major- ity supporting investment-based climate policy amongst those who are energy insecure. In contrast, for those who did not previously experi- ence energy insecurity or do not expect to be energy insecure, support is not significantly different from indifference for investment-based cli- mate policy. Turning to compensation based policy, we see a different picture where there is a significant majority not supporting compensa- tion based climate policy amongst those who did not experience and are not expecting energy insecurity. In contrast, for those who have experi- enced or expect energy insecurity, support is not significantly different from indifference. This suggests that the patterns exhibited in Fig. 1, with majority support for investment and a lack of support for compensation, are driven by whether individuals are energy insecure or not.

New paper out in Energy Policy:

Energy insecurity doesn't just affect energy policy preferences—it spills over into climate and social policy support too.

Fault lines | Helen Milner 6.30pm Mon 10 Nov | Helen Milner | Ticket Required | Free public event at LSE

Excited to chair this talk at LSE with Prof Helen Milner next month.

🗓️ Mon 10 Nov, 18:30–20:00 (UK)
📍 Sheikh Zayed Theatre + online

Registration is free and there will be a drinks reception afterwards

www.lse.ac.uk/events/fault...

My department is currently hiring at the Assistant Professor level in the area of crime and/or criminal justice.

I am on the search committee so feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Environmental Politics is an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal spanning the fields of political science, political sociology, and political theory. The journal provides a forum for the publication of original research into, and discussion and analysis of, the diverse theoretical and empirical aspects of environmental politics. The journal’s 2024 Impact Factor is 5.9, ranking 4/322 in Political Science and 29/191 in Environmental Studies. The journal is recruiting a Social Media Editor to manage its external communications. Responsibilities for this position include: Managing social media accounts (currently Bluesky, X, Substack) and the journal website Posting and circulating all journal and website publications Arranging and editing guest posts and interviews with authors We welcome expressions of interest from scholars of environmental politics from any higher education institution. We strongly encourage applications from early career individuals, including advanced PhD students and post-doctoral fellows, and we would specifically welcome applications from historically underrepresented groups and those whose intersectional identities and perspectives position them to support the editorial team’s commitment to an inclusive conception of environmental politics scholarship. The journal’s Aims and Scope, and the current membership of the editorial team and Editorial Advisory Board, are available at: tandfonline.com/fenp The Social Media Editor position comes with a modest stipend. Please send expressions of interest (no more than 2 pages), along with a brief CV, to David Konisky, Editor-in-Chief, (dkonisky@iu.edu). Reviews will begin October 15, 2025, and applications will be considered until the position is filled.

Call for expressions of interest: We are seeking a Social Media Editor to join our editorial team.

Responsibilities for this position include:

- Running social media & website
- Circulating all publications
- Arranging & editing guest posts

environmentalpoliticsjournal.net/editorial-an...

Excited for #APSA2025 in Vancouver! I’ll be presenting new work on greenwashing with @liambeisermcgrath.bsky.social on Saturday, at 2pm, at East Meeting Level, East 18.

convention2.allacademic.com/one/apsa/aps...

Looking forward to a packed week of exciting research, meeting new people, and catching up with colleagues at #APSA2025 in Vancouver! 👋

Later on Saturday: presenting new work on greenwashing with @jbeisermcgrath.bsky.social‬ 🌱
📍 East Meeting Level, East 18
🕑 14:00
🔗 tinyurl.com/ywbdkgf5
#APSA2025 #Greenwashing #ClimatePolitics #EnvPol #polisky

Saturday morning: I’ll be chairing the panel on Voter and Government Responses to Climate Disasters.

🔗 tinyurl.com/ynupd6t2

#DisasterPolitics

Friday highlight: Aseem Prakash’s Gaus Award Lecture on Climate Change, Governance Failures, and Public Administration 🌎📉
Followed by a post-talk reception.
Details 👉 tinyurl.com/2ccnepfa

EPG Get-together @ APSA '25 As in previous years, we will get together for informal drinks @ APSA this year. Thursday 11th September, 19:00 The Cambie Bar & Grill https://maps.app.goo.gl/jP5MYqaaW896YcHF7 Yours, Patrick Bayer...

On Thursday: the @epgonline.bsky.social‬ get-together! 🍻
📍 The Cambie Bar & Grill
🕖 19:00, Sept 11
If you’re at #APSA2025, come join! Sign up for updates: forms.gle/UmzN3sXtLahY...

PECE - Vancouver 2025 PECE 2025 will be held Wednesday, September 10 in Vancouver, British Columbia at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. Registration is now closed. The conference program...

Kicking things off on Wednesday with the PECE pre-conference—lots of fascinating work at the intersection of political economy & climate/environment 🌍
🔗 www.pece-conference.org/vancouver-2025
#APSA2025 #PolEcon #EnvPol

Excited to be heading to Vancouver for #APSA2025 this week! 🌲🇨🇦 Here’s what I’ll be up to ⬇️
#polisky #ClimatePolitics

Some exciting updates from @epgonline.bsky.social

1️⃣ CfP for EPG Online
2️⃣ Job market resources
3️⃣ #APSA2025 meet-up

Really glad to see these initiatives kicking off for the new academic year, and I’m looking forward to catching up with many of you in Vancouver! 🍁

#polisky #poliscijobs #psjobs

Don’t miss out—submit by Sunday, 24 Aug!

We look forward to welcoming you in London this November 🌿📚

Workshop on Climate Change | November 2025 This workshop aims to bring together researchers who are working on how the distributional impacts of climate change and a changing environment shape society.

✅ No registration fee
✅ Meals & social events covered
✅ Possible accommodation support for ECRs

More details 👉 www.lse.ac.uk/social-polic...

Keynote: Helen Milner (Princeton) on her new book Fault Lines: The New Political Economy of a Warming World (with Alexander F. Gazmararian).

Followed by a full day of papers + discussions.