Increasing individual-level climate mitigation action: the role of behavioral dimensions and inequality perceptions

Abstract

Abstract As behavioral change is an important part of climate change mitigation efforts, scholars have increasingly advocated for a targeted focus on behaviors with high emission reduction potential. This study follows up on this imperative by conducting a factorial survey experiment, analyzing the willingness to adapt climate-friendly behavior in lifestyle dimensions with high emission reduction potential in a representative sample of the adult population of Germany. Moreover, we are employing novel approaches to motivate behavioral change through the lens of perceived inequality in climate change, priming our respondents about economic, generational, or global inequality. Our results identify lifestyle dimensions where behavioral resistance is most pronounced, particularly in meat consumption and car use, and show which dimensions have higher potential for adaptation (e.g. reducing air travel). Our priming experiment reveals that the potential for motivating climate-friendly behavior differs between the three primes. However, while addressing inequality in climate change did dampen the opposition to behavioral change, it alone was insufficient to motivate people in most lifestyle dimensions, emphasizing the need for additional structural transformations in society. Our study sheds light on the complexity of motivating climate-friendly behavior by allowing to distinguish between different lifestyle dimensions with high emission reduction potential and offers new starting points for framing the necessity of behavioral change.