Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Published in: Science Advances – 7 February 2024

Written by 

Lauren C. Howe and 455 other authors

Summary 

What we found: In our study testing 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, we discovered that the effectiveness of these interventions in motivating climate change beliefs and behaviors was small and varied across different outcomes and audience groups. While some interventions showed promise, particularly among nonclimate skeptics, others had limited impact or even decreased the desired behaviors.

Why it matters: These results shed light on the challenges of motivating behavior change to address climate change on a global scale. Understanding the varying effectiveness of different interventions across diverse audiences is crucial for developing targeted and impactful strategies to foster climate action. This research underscores the importance of tailoring climate change interventions to specific audiences and behaviors to maximize their effectiveness and achieve meaningful progress in mitigating climate change.

What next: Organizations and leaders involved in climate change advocacy and policy-making can use these findings to inform the design and implementation of behavior change interventions. By recognizing the varying effectiveness of different strategies across different groups and behaviors, they can develop more targeted and tailored approaches to engage diverse populations and promote climate action.