Making the difficult easy
Reducing carbon footprint while preserving quality of life through effective behavior change
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13067971 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anton Toftgård (Karolinska Institutet), Richard Wedberg (Karolinska Institutet), Alasdair Skelton (0000-0002-3732-7993, Bolin Centre for Climate Research), Mats J Olsson (0000-0001-5592-3759, Karolinska Institutet), Maria Niemi (0000-0001-5407-6981, Karolinska Institutet, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 127 |
| Pages | 104266-104266 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-12 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Energy Research & Social Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2214-6296 • E-ISSN: 2214-6326 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.erss.2025.104266 |
| OpenAlex | W4413103340 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 17 |
The challenge of halting climate change is often described as an environmental problem, although accumulating evidence states that climate change is largely driven by human behavior. Even though psychological research is highly useful for understanding human behaviors and what motivates them, this knowledge has not yet been widely applied in policies aiming to mitigate global warming. Policy implementations should anticipate impacts on both individual welfare and reductions in greenhouse gases. In this study, we aimed to explore which type and level of behavior change would have the optimal relationship with reductions in CO 2 e emissions and impact on quality of life (QOL). A survey was conducted among 500 participants living in the Stockholm Region, assessing how different behavior changes would affect their QOL. The carbon footprint was calculated through per capita estimates provided by Statistics Sweden. The most effective behavior changes according to this study were reductions in shopping , followed by work travel within Stockholm , private travel abroad and meat consumption . This indicates that these categories of behaviors are potential leverage points, where policy makers could implement meaningful and effective interventions while at the same time preserving individuals' QOL. • Consumer behavior is an important field of research when it comes to understanding how to limit global warming. • Changing consumer behavior is expected to be more viable if the negative impact on quality of life is smaller. • Shopping, travel habits and meat consumption were promising targets for behavior change
Carbon Footprint · Economics · Environmental economics · Greenhouse gas · Quality (philosophy · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact · Computer Science · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Ecology
Political ideology affects energy-efficiency attitudes and choices
The effectiveness of nudging
Household actions can provide a behavioral wedge to rapidly reduce US carbon emissions
Behaviour change to address climate change
Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene
Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers
Improving Climate Change Mitigation Analysis
Evaluating the usefulness of Protection Motivation Theory for predicting climate change mitigation behavioral intentions among a US sample of climate change deniers and acknowledgers
Public perceptions of how to reduce carbon footprints of consumer food choices
The connection between subjective wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviour
| Highly cited | No |
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