With 80% of people in the UK being concerned about climate change, social science research is helping governments translate people’s attitudes into action.
Summary
Social science researchers in the UK have been instrumental in exploring and explaining how human behaviour might need to adapt to slow and respond to climate change. The Centre for Climate Change & Social Transformations (CAST) has highlighted the importance of a people-centred approach to climate action, and their work has become embedded in key policies and institutional decision-making, including helping to embed climate action within local government decision-making and within the Skidmore Review of Net Zero.
Putting people at the heart of climate change action
“We want to work closely with people and organisations to achieve positive low-carbon futures — transforming the way we live our lives, and reconfiguring organisations and cities.”
Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh MBE
The challenge
The UK has committed to reducing emissions in 2030 by 68% compared to 1990 levels as its Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement. This is the first UK target set in line with reaching net zero. But the UK is currently not on track to meet this target, as, according to the Climate Change Committee, only a third of the emissions reductions required to achieve this target are currently covered by credible plans.
The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) report shows that reducing demand for energy through social and behavioural change can more rapidly and often more cost-effectively cut emissions than developing new technologies. But good policy development depends on securing public support and public consent, often for things that are complex to understand or require changes in how people live their lives. So, to support in tackling climate change, social science has a critical role to play in explaining the need for (and the mechanics of) climate adaptation to sceptical or indifferent sections of the public.
This extract is taken from the Academy’s Election 24 special We Society podcast episode which featured four leading social scientists, including Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh MBE, on how the new UK Government should tackle the country’s most pressing challenges. Listen to the full episode.
The research
The Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) is one of the UK’s first major research centres focused on social science and climate change. Formed in 2019, the internationally renowned global hub studies the central role of people in social transformations to address how we can live in ways that meet the urgent need for rapid emissions reductions by putting people at the heart of climate change action. CAST’s research programme focuses on four challenging areas which have substantial climate impacts but have proven difficult to tackle to date – material consumption, diet, mobility and thermal comfort.
One of the core areas of CAST’s work is focusing on people as agents of change. Through their research, CAST listens to people’s views through surveys and working closing with communities to trial new approaches for reducing emissions to see what works.
One example includes the team working with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to support improved climate related decision-making and implementation. Manchester has put climate change and equalities at the top of their policy and strategic agendas but there was not a consistently applied way of assessing carbon impacts and co-benefits of proposed policies, services and initiatives.
Members of the CAST team developed the Carbon and Co-benefits Decision Support Tool to support Greater Manchester’s planners and policymakers to assess how proposed policies, services, or initiatives contribute to climate mitigation and generate additional benefits for the city’s residents. The Tool has since been integrated into the GMCA’s governance process.
Behaviour change and the climate emergency: policy choices to drive social action
The impact
CAST’s work has been embedded in key policies and local government decision-making, for instance the Carbon and Co-benefits Decision Support Tool implemented by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority enables decision-makers to consider the carbon and co-benefits impacts, with an explanation or recommended mitigation measures. This helps to inform decisions made related to 2.8 million residents and millions of pounds of public spending for the local area. The tool is now freely available online to all local authorities, along with training videos and guidance on its use.
The work of the team on the public’s attitudes towards climate change, how this translates into action and how policymakers can increase support for and participation in sustainable policies was also embedded within the Skidmore Review of Net Zero, which makes 129 recommendations for creating a green economy and meeting net zero by 2050.
“It can often feel hard to take action on climate change when we focus only on our own carbon footprints – it may be more expensive or inconvenient to make low-carbon choices, for example. But when we think beyond our role as consumers to being citizens, parents, friends, members of interest groups, and employees – there is also scope for us all to influence wider society, by shaping norms, using our voice, and working with others to make change happen. This is a really empowering message from our work!”
Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh MBE