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Event Series Event Series: Mitigation policy: mixed methods

‘Moments of change’ and low-carbon behaviours: A multidisciplinary, systematic review

June 10, 2024 / 13:0014:30

Behaviour change is required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit climate change. Over the last two decades, there has been considerable interest in particular instances when people’s habits and routines become more amenable to change. These instances are referred to as ‘moments of change’ (MoCs). The recent and rapid increase in research in this area calls for a systematic review of the topic. We draw upon evidence from 132 articles, identified through Scopus and Web of Science, on the effects of biographical (e.g., relocation) and exogenous (e.g., financial crises) life events on climate change mitigation behaviours (e.g., mobility). Most of the research is concentrated on the Global North, (UK, USA, Germany, etc.) and often there are confounding factors within studies’ designs and methodologies. There are mixed results in terms of support for behaviour change during MoCs. Frequently, if there is evidence of behaviour changes, they are dependent on contextual (e.g., physical infrastructure), demographic, social, and economic factors. Articles focus more on biographical MoCs (particularly relocation) than exogenous MoCs, and on consumption behaviours (particularly mobility), rather than on social or political behaviours, such as activism. Few of the papers explicitly test theories or models; the ones which do mostly concentrate on the habit discontinuity hypothesis. Future research could focus on investigating more granular details of MoCs (e.g., habits, planning, timing) and how interventions might be better targeted to capitalise on MoCs. This review highlights the importance of considering when, as well as how, to foster low-carbon behaviour change.

Details

Date:
June 10, 2024
Time:
13:00 – 14:30
Series:

Location

H 0107

Presenter

Lorraine Whitmarsh

Details

Conference Themes
Other
Research Methods
Mixed-methods synthesis