J. Environ. Plann. Manage. http://doi.org/6nq (2015)

When it comes to garnering public support for policies, context matters. The public doesn't tend to care much about climate change when other global issues such as terrorism or the economy are considered in isolation. But, in reality, climate change policies compete with other social goods for public resources.

Carmelo León and Jorge Araña, from the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, explored how the public's valuation of climate policy changed when it was presented alongside a suite of other public policies. They conducted a study of 500 adults in Spain to assess people's preferences for alternative public policies.

People valued climate policies more highly when presented together with those concerning forest fires and development. This wasn't the case when climate policies were linked to programmes tackling terrorism or addressing oil spills. People were also more likely to value climate policy when it was part of a suite of at least three policies, regardless of what the other schemes were.

Understanding how competing options are perceived in this more-realistic setting is crucial for the development and implementation of successful climate policy.