The Implications of Behavioural Science for Effective Climate Policy

The UK committed to achieve legally binding Net Zero targets by 2050, which requires significant behaviour changes of consumers, business leaders, and others across all sectors. This literature review, commissioned by the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) [1], synthesises key findings and implications of behavioural science for effective climate policy in eight main sectors: diet change, reducing end-user consumption, aviation, adaptation, Net Zero skills and careers, business leaders and the transition to sustainability, land use and farming, and policy acceptability.
We used Scopus to find relevant academic literature and issued a call for evidence to experts and stakeholders in the environmental field for further input. Additionally, we used Google searches for relevant grey literature. In total, we found 398 sources and synthesised key findings from important review papers, supported by relevant studies and reports when reviews were not available or recent enough. The initial findings were discussed at a roundtable with invited experts to inform final policy recommendations.
The review revealed that behaviour change towards low-carbon or climate-resilient actions is influenced by individual factors (knowledge, values), social factors (norms, group identity), and practical factors (functionality, ease, price). We found that ‘midstream’ and ‘upstream’ interventions – focusing on making behaviour easier and shifting social norms, respectively – prove more effective than ‘downstream’ approaches, which focus on individuals’ motivation.
Key takeaways for using behavioural science in climate policy include prioritising impactful and feasible behavioural targets, tailoring interventions using theoretical models, combining downstream and upstream approaches, tailoring to diverse populations, timing interventions strategically, engaging the public, and improving evidence and policy evaluation. We will discuss the specific recommendations for the eight sectors and implications for climate policy more generally.

[1]: Disclaimer: These are CAST research findings and recommendations and are not CCC or CCC endorsed recommendations.