Behavioural Insights into Improving Public Engagement with Climate Change
As a Master’s student studying the various types of risks we encounter on a daily basis, it is incredibly interesting to learn the psychological theory behind our behaviour towards threats, specifically climate change. Although empowering and fascinating, it becomes very easy for us as students, researchers and academics, to look at the average layman from our pedestal of knowledge and scientific theory and ask ‘Why are we not doing more?’. The reality is, of course, that each and every one of us has a responsibility to act in environmentally-responsible ways, but we often fail to act, out of fear, ignorance and selfishness. Here, I will briefly discuss some simple ways to improve our engagement with climate change.
Climate change, as we have been told countless times, is an environmental issue exacerbated by human behaviour: the careless consumption of fossil fuels driven by greed, ignorance and the belief that it is simply ‘someone else’s responsibility’ to save our natural world from catastrophe.
Public engagement is considered an individual state of involvement at the cognitive, behavioural and affective levels, and is considered by researchers to be alarmingly varied within the realm of climate change. Although once believed to be the driving force of climate change engagement, simply exposing individuals to dramatic news articles is not enough to change their behaviours. Consumers become fatigued and unresponsive because of a phenomena known as issue fatigue, and so, whilst their awareness and education of climate change issues may increase, the likelihood of actual behavioural change stays worryingly low. Crucially, it is a natural response to avoid negative stimuli, and so an active avoidance of frightening media surrounding climate change by most people, that is likely to be one of the main perpetrators for our worsening environmental situation. True also is the assumption by many that climate change is: someone else’s problem; another country’s responsibility; and something that is not happening right now, known as spatial and temporal discounting.
Although ultimately determined by the media outlets themselves, actively choosing to engage in positive media surrounding climate change has been found to improve individuals’ engagement in pro-environmental behaviours immensely. For example, a recent study into the essential psychological factors required to foster hope for climate change found that having a thorough understanding of the issues facing us and believing in the ability of us and our own communities to do more can go some way in improving climate change actions.
Believing that we, as individuals and communities, can go some way in improving our environmental situation, known as self and collective efficacy, is believed by many to be our saving grace in protecting our planet. For example, moving away from feelings of detachment and believing that your small actions ‘won’t make a difference’ is, ironically, what will make the biggest difference. Small, simple actions, like becoming more vigilant of water and electricity consumption, switching to multi-use plastics, making an effort to recycle, picking up litter, turning off appliances that aren’t being used, are all actions that can, when combined, amount to a huge behavioural shift that will almost certainly turn the tide on climate change.
Furthermore, the importance of engaging with local pro-environmental schemes and initiatives is stressed by governments and academics alike: getting involved in grass-roots initiatives, like recycling and cycling to work schemes, has been found to have a profound impact on positive environmental behaviour. Of course, campaigning for climate action, and donating money to climate-friendly organisations are wonderful examples of activism carried out by millions across the globe, but it is crucial to note that these examples are not the only things that can be done by way of engaging with climate change. Encouraging community involvement in projects such as recycling plastics, or planting new green spaces, or petitioning for more cycle paths in the local area, are all hugely beneficial actions that contribute to the global fight against climate change. By getting individuals and their households involved in these positive actions, environmentally-friendly behaviour change flourishes at the community level and slowly becomes a normative behaviour that peers, neighbours and friends all get involved in.
If each of us commits to small, incremental changes to benefit our planet, then the cumulative impact of our individual actions will be immense. If we each believe that we can make a difference, however small, and carry out pro-environmental actions, then the reversal of the devastating effects of climate change thus far, as well as the stagnation of any future climate-related events, may be within our grasp.
