Behavioral insights for inclusive climate solutions

How Behavioral Science Diagnosed—and Could Have Rescued—a Failing Climate Resilience Project in Fiji In reviewing the #WHO’s recently released draft Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health I was struck by the absence of a  role for behavioral science. It prompted me to share examples of how behavioral science could help achieve the plan's goals. When we talk about climate adaptation, we often focus on infrastructure: seawalls, irrigation systems, and renewable energy. But what happens when communities don’t adopt or support the solutions we offer? That’s exactly the challenge a climate resilience project faced in Fiji. The initiative aimed to protect coastal villages from erosion through ecosystem-based interventions, like planting vetiver grass to stabilize riverbanks. The science was solid. The environmental need was urgent. Yet uptake was low. Enter behavioral science. A team of behavioral researchers was brought in to understand the disconnect. Their findings were both simple and profound: For many villagers, land wasn’t just physical space—it was a part of their identity. The sea encroaching on land was felt not only as a climate threat but as a dilution of cultural identity and ancestral belonging. The original project had framed erosion as a technical issue. In reality, it was deeply psychological and social. Interviews revealed other critical barriers. When adopting natural infrastructure like vetiver meant reducing the immediate usability of farming land, villagers hesitated. As humans, we tend to prefer familiar, predictable risks over uncertain, ambiguous ones. That uncertainty was a major obstacle. Behavioral interviews showed that 43% of respondents were unsure about the relative effectiveness of natural versus hard infrastructure. Opinions were evenly split on whether vetiver was more effective than seawalls. Only half believed that the intervention would personally benefit them. A common refrain was the lack of information: “We’ve received no trainings/awareness on vetiver grass and its benefits.” “We’ve heard about it during the community planting program but there was no training or awareness done.” These insights enabled behavioral scientists tp propose a revised approach: ✅ Reframe messaging to highlight cultural preservation. ✅ Engage communities in co-design to ensure traditional knowledge guided intervention choices. ✅ Use storytelling to embed behavioral change in shared narratives. ✅ Map social norms to identify influencers who could lead adoption. Climate programs must recognize: adaptation is not just a technical challenge, it's a behavioral one. Source: Dekens, J., Bujold, P., & Mannle, K. (2024). Behavioural Science for Climate Change Adaptation: A case of ecosystem-based adaptation in Fiji. #BehavioralScience #ClimateAdaptation #GlobalHealth #ImplementationScience #CommunityResilience #HealthPolicy #SocialNorms #Fiji #ClimateResilience #BehaviorChange #Equity #WHO #CultureAndClimate

🌍 New Report Release! 🧠💡 Excited to share our latest World Bank report: “Behavioral Insights for the Green Transition: Capturing Household Beliefs, Preferences, and Attitudes in ECA” 📘 What drives people’s climate-related behaviors? How can we design better policies for energy efficiency, clean technologies, and sustainable waste management? Our team surveyed 16,500 households across 16 countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia to uncover: ✅ Perceptions of climate change ✅ Support for sustainability policies ✅ Barriers to adopting clean technologies ✅ Behavioral drivers of action (and inaction) 🔍 The report offers practical behavioral insights to help governments and practitioners close the gap between climate intention and climate action — with targeted communication, trusted messengers, and inclusive, system-level solutions. This report is the result of an amazing team: Juni Singh, Jonathan Karver, Alessandro Silvestri, Sandu Cojocaru, Anna Fruttero, Obert Pimhidzai and partners! This work was jointly supported by the World Bank’s Climate Support Facility (CSF) and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)’s Effective Governance for Economic Development in Central Asia (EGED) Trust Fund Climate Window. 📥 Link: https://lnkd.in/d7q2zpk2 #BehavioralScience #ClimateChange #GreenTransition #ECA #WorldBank #Sustainability #ClimatePolicy #BehavioralInsights

🌍 We cannot solve the climate crisis without demand-side solutions. The IPCC is crystal clear: changing what we demand and how we live could reduce global emissions by 40–70% by 2050. This is not a marginal add-on. It must be at the heart of climate policy. Demand-side solutions include: ✅ Shifting to more plant-based diets ✅ Reducing energy use in buildings through efficiency and behavior change ✅ Avoiding high-carbon mobility, such as frequent flying, while expanding public and active transport ✅ Designing infrastructures and cities that make low-carbon choices easy, attractive, and fair Demand-side change is not only about asking people to consume less. It is about creating the social, political, and institutional conditions that make low-carbon living possible and attractive. Here, social science is crucial. Lasting change depends on reshaping the cultural norms, social dynamics, and infrastructures that currently lock people into high-carbon behaviors. And when done well, these shifts can substantially reduce emissions while enhancing health, wellbeing, and fairness. That means: - Developing policies that account for feasibility, equity, and social norms - Recognizing the disproportionate responsibility and opportunity of high-income groups - Linking personal choices to the systemic changes needed in politics, markets, and infrastructure 📄 IPCC WGIII Chapter 5 remains the most comprehensive resource on the social science of climate change mitigation. I cannot recommend it enough! Felix Creutzig Joyashree Roy Leila Niamir Patrick Devine-Wright Elke Weber Julia Steinberger #ClimateAction #climate #socialscience #sustainability #climatejustice https://lnkd.in/dd93kjZg