Climate change and energy - Behavioural change

Title

Exploring the use of a game to stimulate energy saving in households

Reference

Journal of Design Research, 2012

Author(s)

Daphne Geelen, David Keyson, Stella Boess and Han Brezet

Study type

Peer Review Journal    

Abstract

This paper presents a study called the Energy Battle, a game aimed at encouraging home occupants to save energy. Twenty student-households were provided with direct feedback and an online platform with energy feedback over time, ranking of the competing teams, tips and a game. The study showed that the game context strongly influenced the motivation to save energy. Overall, savings averaged 24%, with the highest savings level at 45%. Directly after completion of the Energy Battle, energy consumption increased among most of the households, although consumption levels tended to stay below the baseline measurement level taken before the Energy Battle. Follow-up interviews indicated that some of the behaviours developed in the game had transformed into habits. A game such as the Energy Battle appears to provide a powerful means to stimulate energy saving in the short term. The potential to achieve long term effects appears possible, however further research is required to understand long-term implications for an Energy Battle game.

Policy theme(s)

Climate change and energy >> Climate change mitigation >> Behavioural change
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Behavioural change

Keywords

household energy consumption; energy saving behaviour; social incentives; serious gaming; online games; design for sustainable behaviour; sustainable development; sustainability

Entry Source:

Shortlisted for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

View this study at:

http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=record&rec_id=46096
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d.v.geelen@tudelft.nl

Title

Environmental Sustainability and Behavioral Science
Meta-Analysis of Proenvironmental Behavior Experiments

Reference

Environment and Behavior March 2012 vol. 44 no. 2 257-299

Author(s)

Richard Osbaldiston, John Paul Schott

Study type

Peer Review Journal    

Abstract

To provide practitioners with useful information about how to promote proenvironmental behavior (PEB), a meta-analysis was performed on 87 published reports containing 253 experimental treatments that measured an observed, not self-reported, behavioral outcome. Most studies combined multiple treatments, and this confounding precluded definitive conclusions about which individual treatments are most effective. Treatments that included cognitive dissonance, goal setting, social modeling, and prompts provided the overall largest effect sizes (Hedge’s g > 0.60). Further analyses indicated that different treatments have been more effective for certain behaviors. Although average effect sizes are based on small numbers of studies, effective combinations of treatments and behaviors are making it easy to recycle, setting goals for conserving gasoline, and modeling home energy conservation. The results also reveal several gaps in the literature that should guide further research, including both treatments and PEB that have not been tested.

Policy theme(s)

Climate change and energy >> Climate change mitigation >> Behavioural change
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Behavioural change
Resource efficiency >> Energy efficiency

Keywords

Entry Source:

Selected for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

View this study at:

 http://eab.sagepub.com/content/44/2/257.abstract?etoc
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Richard.osbaldiston@eku.edu

Title

Environmental citizens: climate pledger attitudes and micro-generation installation

Reference

DOI: 10.1080/13549839.2011.631991

Author(s)

Paul Upham

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

To date, the phenomenon of climate pledging has been little investigated. This paper describes the results of a questionnaire survey of 201 climate pledgers in Greater Manchester (UK), focusing on attitudes and behaviour relevant to environmental citizenship. In particular, attention is given to attitudes and behaviour related to renewable energy and micro-generation, selectively comparing with national UK data. The survey shows that installation cost and lengthy pay-back times have been major constraints on microgen installation not just for the general population, but also for those with a high degree of environmental commitment. Nonetheless, the microgen installation rate among the climate pledgers as of early 2011, before the introduction of feed-in tariffs, was at least 11 times higher than the national average. Using regression analyses, the best model that could be found for explaining installation of the most popular microgen technology, solar thermal, accounted for 27% of variance. Within this model, environmental commitment was of less importance than having given serious consideration to other microgen options. While this was possibly due to group homogeneity, in general, the results do emphasise the limits to environmental citizenship.

Policy theme(s)

Climate change and energy >> Climate change mitigation >> Behavioural change
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Behavioural change
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Stakeholder/public engagement

Keywords

Entry Source:

Selected for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

View this study at:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13549839.2011.631991
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p.upham@leeds.ac.uk

Title

Personally Relevant Climate Change: The Role of Place Attachment and Local Versus Global Message Framing in Engagement

Reference

Environment and Behavior October 20, 2011 0013916511421196

Author(s)

Leila Scannell & Robert Gifford

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

To help mitigate the negative effects of climate change, citizens' attitudes and behaviors must be better understood. However, little is known about which factors predict engagement with climate change, and which messaging strategies are most effective. A community sample of 324 residents from three regions in British Columbia read information either about a climate change impact relevant to their local area, a more global one, or, in a control condition, no message. Participants indicated the extent of their climate change engagement, the strength of their attachment to their local area, and demographic information. Three significant unique predictors of climate change engagement emerged: place attachment, receiving the local message, and gender (female). These results provide empirical support for some previously proposed barriers to climate action and suggest guidelines for effective climate change communication.

Policy theme(s)

Climate change and energy >> Climate change mitigation >> Behavioural change
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Behavioural change
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Stakeholder/public engagement

Keywords

Entry Source:

Shortlisted for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

Referred to in EC doc:

N/A

View this study at:

http://eab.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/10/20/0013916511421196.abstract?papetoc
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rgifford@uvic.ca

Title

Does belief matter in climate change action?

Reference

Public Understanding of Science August 23, 2011 0963662511410268

Author(s)

Annukka Vainio Riikka Paloniemi

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

We studied environmental action and its predictors in a multi-scalar context of climate change politics. We asked how belief in climate change, post-materialist values, trust and knowledge predict people’s engagement in environmental action by testing two alternative structural equation models (SEM). In one of these models all these factors directly predicted climate-friendly action, and in the other the effect of political trust, post-materialist values and climate change knowledge on climate-friendly action was mediated by belief in climate change. The models were tested with Eurobarometer 69.2 survey data of adult people living in Finland (N = 1,004). The SEM revealed that belief in climate change mediates the effect of post-material values, trust and knowledge on climate-friendly action. It is therefore important to recognize the role of belief in the public understanding of large-scale environmental problems. These results help political authorities to develop policies to encourage people’s engagement in climate-friendly action.

Policy theme(s)

Climate change and energy >> Climate change mitigation >> Behavioural change
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Behavioural change
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Stakeholder/public engagement

Keywords

Entry Source:

Shortlisted for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

Referred to in EC doc:

N/A

View this study at:

http://pus.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/08/20/0963662511410268.abstract?papetoc
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Annukka.vainio@helsinki.fi

Title

One or Many? The Influence of Episodic and Thematic Climate Change Frames on Policy Preferences and Individual Behavior Change

Reference

Science Communication March 2011 vol. 33 no. 1 28-51

Author(s)

Philip Solomon Hart

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

Drawing from framing theory, this study examines how describing the impact of climate change on polar bears with an episodic or thematic frame may affect predispositions for individual behavior change and support for policies to address climate change. The study finds that participants exposed to a thematic frame had more support for policies that address climate change than participants exposed to an episodic frame. There was no framing effect for predispositions for individual behavior change. Implications for communicating climate change to the general public are discussed.

Policy theme(s)

Climate change and energy >> Climate change mitigation >> Behavioural change
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Behavioural change
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Stakeholder/public engagement

Keywords

environmental communication, risk communication, climate change, framing theory

Entry Source:

Shortlisted for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

Referred to in EC doc:

N/A

View this study at:

http://scx.sagepub.com/content/33/1/28.abstract
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hart@american.edu

Title

Environmental impact of building-related and user-related energy consumption in dwellings

Reference

Building and Environment
Volume 46, Issue 8, August 2011, Pages 1657-1669

Author(s)

Inge Blom, Laure Itard and Arjen Meijer

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

Energy consumption in dwellings contributes significantly to their total negative environmental impact. This paper quantitatively assesses the environmental impact of building-related and user-related gas and electricity consumption in a Dutch apartment dwelling using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Several scenarios for gas and electricity consumption are compared to assess what effect changes in building characteristics and user behaviour have on the environmental impacts of energy consumption. This study shows that gas consumption significantly contributes to four environmental impact categories, which can be most effectively countered by reducing the heat demand of the dwelling. A 23% reduction in gas consumption leads to up to 13% less overall environmental impacts. Particularly in buildings with low heat demand, electricity consumption dominates all environmental impact categories. These can most effectively be reduced by changing the electricity demand of the user: 47% less electricity consumption leads to a 9-45% reduction in the total environmental impact. However, since electricity consumption continues to rise, the environmental effects of electricity use may be better reduced by changing the environmental impact of the electricity supply. Theoretically, when electricity consumption remains the same, over 90% less environmental impact could be reached by using 100% wind power to generate electricity.

Policy theme(s)

Climate change and energy >> Climate change mitigation >> Behavioural change
Sustainable consumption and production >> Sustainable consumption >> Consumption behaviour

Keywords

Life cycle assessment (LCA); Dwelling; Energy consumption; Electricity mix; Consumer behaviour

Entry Source:

N/A

Referred to in EC doc:

Shortlisted for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

View this study at:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132311000503
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I.S.Blom@tudelft.nl

Title

Behaviour Change in the UK Climate Debate: An Assessment of Responsibility, Agency and Political Dimensions

Reference

Sustainability 2011, 3(6), 789-808; doi:10.3390/su3060789

Author(s)

Shane Fudge and Michael Peters

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

This paper explores the politics around the role of agency in the UK climate change debate. Government interventions on the demand side of consumption have increasingly involved attempts to obtain greater traction with the values, attitudes and beliefs of citizens in relation to climate change and also in terms of influencing consumer behaviour at an individuallevel. With figures showing that approximately 40% of the UK's carbon emissions are attributable to household and transport behaviour, policy initiatives have progressively focused on the facilitation of 'sustainable behaviours'. Evidence suggests however, that mobilisation of pro-environmental attitudes in addressing the perceived 'value-action gap' has so far had limited success. Research in this field suggests that there is a more significant and nuanced 'gap' between context and behaviour; a relationship that perhaps provides a more adroit reflection of reasons why people do not necessarily react in the way that policy-makers anticipate. Tracing the development of the UK Government's behaviour change agenda over the last decade, we posit that a core reason for the limitations of this programme relates to an excessively narrow focus on the individual. This has served to obscure some of the wider political and economic aspects of the debate in favour of a more simplified discussion. The second part of the paper reports findings from a series of focus groups exploring some of the wider political views that people hold around household energy habits, purchase and use of domestic appliances, and transport behaviour-and discusses these insights in relation to the literature on the agenda's apparent limitations. The paper concludes by considering whether the aims of the Big Society approach (recently established by the UK's Coalition Government) hold the potential to engage more directly with some of these issues or whether they merely constitute a 'repackaging' of the individualism agenda.

Policy theme(s)

Climate change and energy >> Climate change mitigation >> Behavioural change
Sustainable consumption and production >> Sustainable consumption >> Consumption behaviour

Keywords

environmental policy, climate change, agency, behaviour, lifestyles

Entry Source:

Selected for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

Referred to in EC doc:

N/A

View this study at:

http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/3/6/789/
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Contact the study author at:

s.fudge@surrey.ac.uk

Title

Public engagement with carbon and climate change: To what extent is the public 'carbon capable'?

Reference

Global Environmental Change
Volume 21, Issue 1, February 2011, Pages 56-65

Author(s)

Lorraine Whitmarsh, Gill Seyfang and Saffron O'Neill

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

The relevance of climate change for society seems indisputable: scientific evidence points to a significant human contribution in causing climate change, and impacts which will increasingly affect human welfare. In order to meet national and international greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets, there is an urgent need to understand and enable societal engagement in mitigation. Yet recent research indicates that this involvement is currently limited: although awareness of climate change is widespread, understanding and behavioral engagement are far lower. Proposals for mitigative 'personal carbon budgets' imply a need for public understanding of the causes and consequences of carbon emissions, as well as the ability to reduce emissions. However, little has been done to consider the situated meanings of carbon and energy in everyday life and decisions. This paper builds on the concept of 'carbon capability', a term which captures the contextual meanings associated with carbon and individuals' abilities and motivations to reduce emissions. We present empirical findings from a UK survey of public engagement with climate change and carbon capability, focusing on both individual and institutional dimensions. These findings highlight the diverse public understandings about 'carbon', encompassing technical, social, and moral discourses; and provide further evidence for the environmental value-action gap in relation to adoption of low-carbon lifestyles. Implications of these findings for promoting public engagement with climate change and carbon capability are discussed.

Policy theme(s)

Climate change and energy >> Climate change mitigation >> Behavioural change
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Behavioural change
Sustainable consumption and production >> Sustainable consumption >> Consumption behaviour

Keywords

Public understanding, Climate change, Carbon, Low-carbon lifestyles

Entry Source:

Selected for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

Referred to in EC doc:

N/A

View this study at:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378010000701
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WhitmarshLE@cardiff.ac.uk

Title

Apocalypse Soon? Dire Messages Reduce Belief in Global Warming by Contradicting Just-World Beliefs

Reference

Psychological Science January 2011 vol. 22 no. 1 34-38

Author(s)

Matthew Feinberg and Robb Willer

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

Though scientific evidence for the existence of global warming continues to mount, in the United States and other countries belief in global warming has stagnated or even decreased in recent years. One possible explanation for this pattern is that information about the potentially dire consequences of global warming threatens deeply held beliefs that the world is just, orderly, and stable. Individuals overcome this threat by denying or discounting the existence of global warming, and this process ultimately results in decreased willingness to counteract climate change. Two experiments provide support for this explanation of the dynamics of belief in global warming, suggesting that less dire messaging could be more effective for promoting public understanding of climate-change research.

Policy theme(s)

Climate change and energy >> Climate change mitigation >> Behavioural change
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Behavioural change

Keywords

global warming, just world, framing, political psychology

Entry Source:

Selected for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

Referred to in EC doc:

N/A

View this study at:

http://pss.sagepub.com/content/22/1/34
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Contact the study author at:

matthewfeinberg@berkeley.edu