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Behaviour change – actions people can take to reduce the amount of energy they consume – plays a central role in reaching net zero, especially for those with high carbon footprints.
Without changes in energy consumption (using and wasting less), travel habits (increasing public transport use and active travel), and the balance of food types in our diets, net zero by 2050 will be impossible to achieve: one recent estimate suggests around 60% of the emissions cuts required to reach net zero will come through behavioural changes in some form.
But the idea of ‘changing behaviours’ has often had a turbulent relationship with climate policy and campaigns. Across diet, travel and energy use, there are differing levels of support for changing behaviours, and differing levels of willingness to do so.
There’s no shortage of analyses into the sorts of behaviour changes that can reduce emissions. And its long been understood that consumption emissions are strongly skewed towards those with higher disposable incomes.
But politically, the topic remains controversial, and because of the huge variation in the size of individual carbon footprints across society, there is no one-size-fits-all message on shifting behaviours on the path to net zero.
This thread captures insights relating to people’s willingness to make behavioural changes in pursuit of net zero, as well as resources that provide guidance on how to communicate and campaign around shifting behaviours.
In a wide-ranging and in-depth analysis of how the UK public views low-carbon lifestyle changes, in the context of reaching net zero, the CAST centre (Climate Change & Social Transformations) reported on a set of ‘deliberative’ workshops (discussion groups) with members of the public.
The workshops covered four topics: ‘how we heat our homes’, ‘the food we eat’, ‘the products we buy’ and ‘how we travel’.
In contrast to the snap polling that is commissioned in the wake of policy announcements, this approach to understanding public opinion provides participants with the chance to discuss, reflect on and consider the nuances of behavioural changes in the context of net zero.
Summaries for each of the four topics above are presented in the report. In contrast to media commentary and political strategy positioning climate behaviours as part of the ‘culture wars’, one overall conclusion was that personal choices and freedoms are important, but people are willing to engage in low-carbon lifestyles in a way that is proportionate to their own circusmstances:
“Personal choice and freedoms are important aspects underpinning public preferences. In many cases people preferred options that made environmental choices easier rather than restricting choice. Strong negative reactions were only noticeable for strategies which were perceived to take away choice completely, such as meat-free diets, no access to individual car ownership, or living in smaller homes. While these more ‘radical’ strategies do not enjoy high public acceptance, people are willing to consider the principles that underpin them, especially if supported by other actors. For example, most participants were unwilling to consider becoming vegetarian or vegan, but were willing to consider how they could reduce their meat intake. Similarly, living car free was not considered acceptable or feasible by most participants, however they did want to reduce their dependence on cars generally and were open to other modes of transport.”
Grounded in More in Common’s ‘Britain’s Choice’ audience segmentation, Britain Talks Climate provides insights and guidance on how to engage the seven segments that span the breadth of British society.
The two ‘Disengaged’ segments are the least likely to engage in low-carbon behaviours, although they are also likely to have among the lowest carbon footprints.
Civic Pragmatists regularly give to charity, are highly involved in their local community and engage in a range of ‘personal’ low-carbon behaviours
Progressive Activists are the most likely to engage in a range of low-carbon behaviours
In new research written up in a commentary for The Conversation, the risk of political leaders’ high carbon lifestyles could undermine the credibility of the messages they convey on climate change. Whilst the research focuses specifically on political leaders, the same arguments apply to a wide range of individuals and organisations who deliver climate messages (including the climate movement itself).
“The public fully understand political leaders have tight schedules and their activities inevitably involve plenty of high-carbon activities such as air travel.
But people are also very sensitive to the details of each specific situation and alert to signals and behavioural cues from leaders. Context is crucial.
If our leaders are not perceived as fully committed, will they be able to take the public with them as the need for behaviour change becomes more and more pressing?”
This short animation from Climate Outreach makes the case that ‘behaviour change’ and ‘system change’ are not mutually exclusive, as some advocates suggest.
Instead, they should be seen as ‘two sides of the same coin’, with individual action part of broader engagement with climate change and one way in which people can build a sense of agency and ‘efficacy’ (that their actions matter).
In a first for the annual Emissions Gap report, a chapter on emissions from lifestyle changes concluded that behavioural changes – from those with high carbon footprints – are essential for bridging the gap between current emissions levels and those consistent with the UN Paris agreement
The graphic below shows how skewed emissions are across different income groups
The centre for Climate Change & Social Transformations (CAST) carried out a set of global surveys with over 3000 participants from Brazil, China, Sweden and the UK in 2020 (the survey is repeated annually)
Large majorities from across borders, age divides and financial backgrounds were positive on the need for action on climate change.
Click through to the CAST dashboard to filter the results further.