This seminar will be presented via Zoom. For the Zoom link, please contact: pennmindcore@sas.upenn.edu

Kristian Steensen Nielsen
Department of Management, Society and Communication
Copenhagen Business School

Behavioral research on climate change mitigation

Addressing climate change requires unprecedented societal transformations within a short time frame. Behavioral science has an important role to play in informing this transformation, but so far it has only had a relatively minor role in informing climate change mitigation strategies. In my talk, I will first highlight why behavioral science deserves greater scientific and policy consideration and in which aspects of mitigation behavioral science is especially important. I will then characterize the typical behavioral science approach to studying climate-relevant behaviors and pinpoint pertinent limitations and blind spots. I will close by offering suggestions for how to increase behavioral science’s contribution to mitigating climate change and its relevance for policymakers and high-level interdisciplinary research collaborations.