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Measuring what works : Quantifying greenhouse gas emission reductions of behavioural interventions to reduce driving, meat consumption, and household energy use

Wynes, Seth ; Nicholas, Kimberly A. LU orcid ; Zhao, Jiaying and Donner, Simon D. (2018) In Environmental Research Letters 13(11).
Abstract

Interventions that promote pro-environmental behaviours are increasingly necessary in reducing use of high-emissions goods and services to meet international climate change targets. Here we assess the greenhouse gas emissions reductions associated with behavioural interventions in three high-emitting domains (personal vehicle use, meat consumption, and household energy use) based on an analysis of the peer-reviewed literature. We examined 40 studies from 1991-2018 involving 886 576 subjects. We found that some of the most robust interventions shown to reduce emissions were financial incentives for personal vehicles, defaults for reduced meat consumption, and feedback for home energy use. We estimate mean annual reductions of 571... (More)

Interventions that promote pro-environmental behaviours are increasingly necessary in reducing use of high-emissions goods and services to meet international climate change targets. Here we assess the greenhouse gas emissions reductions associated with behavioural interventions in three high-emitting domains (personal vehicle use, meat consumption, and household energy use) based on an analysis of the peer-reviewed literature. We examined 40 studies from 1991-2018 involving 886 576 subjects. We found that some of the most robust interventions shown to reduce emissions were financial incentives for personal vehicles, defaults for reduced meat consumption, and feedback for home energy use. We estimate mean annual reductions of 571 kgCO2e per vehicle driver for reduced vehicle use, 51 kgCO2e per individual for reduced meat consumption, and 149 kgCO2e per household for reduced energy use. Despite substantial attention to behavioural interventions in the literature, we find that few studies are suitable for quantifying emissions reductions (N = 6 for diet, N = 5 for personal vehicles) and few (N = 3) are conducted outside OECD countries. Due to this imbalance in the literature, we focus our findings on western economies. We find substantial variation in the emission reductions achieved with different interventions within each domain; interventions in diet ranged from reductions of 231 kgCO2e to increases of 116 kgCO2e per person per year (both statistically significant). Further, emissions reductions are sensitive to external factors, such as the emissions intensity of the electrical grid, which may change over time. Key gaps in the literature include a lack of studies conducted using randomized controlled trials or follow-ups, and in high-impact areas for emissions reductions including air travel. We highlight promising areas of intervention, such as habit changes to promote mode shifts in personal transportation, which would benefit from an analysis of greenhouse gas emissions reductions in future research.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
climate change mitigation, household energy, meat consumption, personal vehicles, pro-environmental behaviors
in
Environmental Research Letters
volume
13
issue
11
article number
113002
publisher
IOP Publishing
external identifiers
  • scopus:85056889321
ISSN
1748-9326
DOI
10.1088/1748-9326/aae5d7
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ea7770eb-4fc5-4563-8072-8f0c435d1e5b
date added to LUP
2018-11-29 13:32:18
date last changed
2022-03-09 22:46:11
@article{ea7770eb-4fc5-4563-8072-8f0c435d1e5b,
  abstract     = {{<p>Interventions that promote pro-environmental behaviours are increasingly necessary in reducing use of high-emissions goods and services to meet international climate change targets. Here we assess the greenhouse gas emissions reductions associated with behavioural interventions in three high-emitting domains (personal vehicle use, meat consumption, and household energy use) based on an analysis of the peer-reviewed literature. We examined 40 studies from 1991-2018 involving 886 576 subjects. We found that some of the most robust interventions shown to reduce emissions were financial incentives for personal vehicles, defaults for reduced meat consumption, and feedback for home energy use. We estimate mean annual reductions of 571 kgCO<sub>2</sub>e per vehicle driver for reduced vehicle use, 51 kgCO<sub>2</sub>e per individual for reduced meat consumption, and 149 kgCO<sub>2</sub>e per household for reduced energy use. Despite substantial attention to behavioural interventions in the literature, we find that few studies are suitable for quantifying emissions reductions (N = 6 for diet, N = 5 for personal vehicles) and few (N = 3) are conducted outside OECD countries. Due to this imbalance in the literature, we focus our findings on western economies. We find substantial variation in the emission reductions achieved with different interventions within each domain; interventions in diet ranged from reductions of 231 kgCO<sub>2</sub>e to increases of 116 kgCO<sub>2</sub>e per person per year (both statistically significant). Further, emissions reductions are sensitive to external factors, such as the emissions intensity of the electrical grid, which may change over time. Key gaps in the literature include a lack of studies conducted using randomized controlled trials or follow-ups, and in high-impact areas for emissions reductions including air travel. We highlight promising areas of intervention, such as habit changes to promote mode shifts in personal transportation, which would benefit from an analysis of greenhouse gas emissions reductions in future research.</p>}},
  author       = {{Wynes, Seth and Nicholas, Kimberly A. and Zhao, Jiaying and Donner, Simon D.}},
  issn         = {{1748-9326}},
  keywords     = {{climate change mitigation; household energy; meat consumption; personal vehicles; pro-environmental behaviors}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{11}},
  publisher    = {{IOP Publishing}},
  series       = {{Environmental Research Letters}},
  title        = {{Measuring what works : Quantifying greenhouse gas emission reductions of behavioural interventions to reduce driving, meat consumption, and household energy use}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aae5d7}},
  doi          = {{10.1088/1748-9326/aae5d7}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}