We need to change our climate behaviour. So says the UN climate panel IPCC. Climate and energy minister Rob Jetten also wants to make more and better use of behavioral knowledge. That sounds good. But there are annoying pitfalls.
1. Changing climate behavior is complicated. Behavioral change is tailor-made. That say, among other things the behavioral scientists who contribute to climatehelpdesk.org (nice initiative!).
What’s up with that? It is true that everyone’s behavior is largely controlled by what we know and are able to do (capacity); by what we desire (motivation); and by external possibilities and limitations (environment). But it differs per person and per group what that capacity, motivation and environment look like and what needs to be done to stimulate desired behaviour. Controlling accurately and effectively is an almost impossible task for the government.
2. ‘Awareness’ is not enough. Governments and citizen groups that want to do something for the climate often focus on ‘raising awareness’. For example with creative communication or demonstrations. The assumption: if people know the need is high, action will follow.
This is unfortunately a persistent misunderstanding. The vast majority of Europeans climate change has long been an important problem and also finds that the CO2emissions must be reduced. But this does not lead to mass action. behavioral scientists publishing for over 90 years about the gap between intention and behavior† The behavioral scientists who advise Jetten also point to this problem† The big challenge now is to take the step from awareness to concrete behaviour.
3. Gentle nudges don’t help enough. Politicians love nudging: offering smart choices, without restricting people’s freedom. Meta-analyses from 2019 and 2021 show, however, that ‘soft nudges’, such as providing information and other decision-making assistance, produce only minor changes. Those who want greater effects must intervene more vigorously. The researchers point to the success of ‘default options† Example: organ donation laws whereby you are a standard donor – just like in the Netherlands from 2020 – until you indicate otherwise.
Complicated: the ‘inventors’ of nudging, Richard Thaler and Cas Sunstein, find this too compelling and not nudging.
Annoying: comparison of countries in the field of organ donation shows that simply introducing such an opt-out system is insufficient. For example, you must also ensure proper organization of donation and transplantation. Translation into climate action: you can make ‘bad’ climate behavior more difficult, but then you also have to make ‘good’ climate behavior easier.
4. It is impossible to keep everyone as a friend. An open door in a time full of farmers’ protests. But there is more to say about it. The British research agency Kantar gauged the climate mood last year in ten countries, including the Netherlands. Interesting: 76 percent of citizens surveyed said they would accept stricter government regulations. But 46 percent of people saw no need to change their personal habits. We would rather the government do something about deforestation, or encourage the use of clean energy, than make flying and eating meat more difficult. If you want to change the climate behavior of citizens, you must prepare for considerable resistance.
More next week. About what might work.
Ben Tiggelaar writes weekly about personal leadership, work and management.
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of 9 July 2022