Our Common Future under Climate Change - International Scientific Conference Paris, France.

1. Public policy in the richest countries regarding environmental
protection is currently based on ‘monetising’ nature – regarding it as a
form of capital. The UK government tries to tackle climate change using
a multitude of approaches however; the most effective ones to
influence pro-environmental behaviour in the long term are yet to be
found.
At present, there is still a lot of work to be done in figuring out the
motivational factors and circumstances, which lead to the ‘right’ actions
that will guarantee a sustainable world for our future generations.
In the meantime, the UK government tries pursuing people to change
their unsustainable lifestyle using financial incentives, nudging and
population segmentation.
OUR COMMON FUTURE UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE
International Scientific Conference
7th -10th July 2015 Paris, FRANCE
Does the Public Policy for Influencing Pro-environmental Behaviour in the Developed Countries
Take Into Account People’s Common Future Under Climate Change?
Ph.D. Lavinia Ioana UDREA
l.i.udrea@keele.ac.uk
School of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy
Keele University, United Kingdom.
Abstract A great need for feedback
These three approaches give people strong reasons to take the ‘right’ actions in the short
term; however, when the incentives are stopped, they need to find by themselves the
motivation to act pro-environmentally.
A lot of green initiatives fail to achieve the set objectives because environmental and
"climate change problems are silent” however, we can see the consequences of
unsustainable behaviour everywhere around us.
In this sense, the governmental body needs to become more transparent when it comes to
the harmful consequences of peoples’ actions and institutions' unsustainable decisions.
When actors have access to information, they are capable to understand their harmful
behaviours and feel empowered to question government’s action plans and pressure it to
implement the best environmental policies that are in alignment with their needs.
In order for people to adopt a pro-environmental behaviour in the long term, the
government must facilitate the contexts for them to become aware of their unsustainable
daily actions.
Hence, I will discuss the top three most used UK governmental approaches to motivate
people to adopt a pro-environmental behaviour.
Access to information
Not all people have access to information regarding environmental
issues or are part of a context where environmental protection is a
main priority.
Therefore, individuals need to be provided with the necessary
information and have the specific infrastructure at hand in order to
adopt a sustainable lifestyle and take the ‘right’ actions.
At present, it seems easier to convince people to act pro-
environmentally by working with their short term motivations for
action, than helping them adopt sustainable habits in the long-
term.
As a result, the current UK governmental approaches to influencing
pro-environmental behaviour have a negative impact on people’s
behaviour and might perhaps weaken their sense of moral
responsibility towards nature, in the context of environmental
degradation.
Conclusion
Key References
At present, the UK government makes a lot of effort to fight for environmental
protection and tackle climate change using a multitude of strategies and approaches.
However, not all pro-environmental initiatives implemented set a straightforward
connection between the environmental values people have and the human
responsibility to protect the natural world. Therefore, if people do not understand and
assume the change they need to make, they will not acquire environmental attitudes to
motivate them to act pro-environmentally in the future.
Moreover, I state that environmental ethics are not often mentioned in the debate
about influencing human action for climate change mitigation; even though morality
can be for the majority of us, a behaviour regulator that can motivate us to take the
‘right’ actions.
Whatever the reason, there is not a lot of interest to bring to attention the
interdependent relationship between human beings and the environment. Thus, many
pro-environmental projects are implemented without having the discussion about what
people’s duties and responsibilities towards the environment are.
 Bell D., Dobson A. (2006) Environmental Citizenship, MIT Press.
 Booth C. (2009) ‘A motivational turn for environmental ethics’ in Ethics & the Environment 14(1): 53-78.
 DEFRA (2008) A Framework for pro-Environmental Behaviours. [online] DEFRA. Available
from:<https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69277/pb13574-behaviours-report-080110.pdf> [Accessed 15th April 2014].
 Gowdy, J, ‘Behavioural economics and climate change policy’, in Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organisation 68 (2008): 632-644.
 John P., Smith G., Stoker G. (2009) ‘Nudge Nudge, Think Think: Two Strategies for Changing Civic Behaviour’ in The Political Quarterly 80(3): 361-370.
 Kollmuss A., Agyeman J. (2002) ‘Mind the Gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior?’ in Environmental Education Research
8(3): 239–260.
 Thaler R. H., Sunstein C. R. (2009) Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness, New York: Penguin Books.
Public policy tool 1 - Financial incentives
The UK government uses financial incentives to influence people to adopt behaviours that are in
alignment with its environmental objectives and targets. People take action being financial
incentivized, without understanding the benefits of adopting a pro-environmental behaviour. It has
been shown that economic factors and financial incentives are strong motivators for influencing
people to take environmental actions.
Public policy tool 2 – Nudging
Supporters of regulating behaviour through nudging and choice architecture argue against financial
incentives because they seem to influence people’s choices using a punishment/reward system. On
the other hand, choice architects design nudges, which do not limit people’s free choice but offer
‘default options’ which are designed in conformity with what the government recommends to be the
‘right’ actions that people should take for the sake of present and future generations.
 Public policy tool 3 – Population Segmentation
It is a social marketing strategy to encourage pro-environmental behaviour. This approach divides the
UK population in seven segments in order to find the most effective ways to address people with
different backgrounds and help them change their unsustainable habits. Thus, the reason why DEFRA
sets classes of consumers taking into consideration their willingness and ability to act pro-
environmentally is to obtain the best possible results while engaging people of all social strata.
DiscussionApproach and Methodology
There is a great need for feedback as a response to the
unsustainable actions that people take.
One of the most difficult issues environmental protection
faces at present is the lack of responsibility individuals
are willing to take for the consequences of their
behaviour. People need to become aware of the invisible,
long term effects of harmful habits that affect nature and
the others around them.
In order to help people become sincerely concerned
about the surrounding environment, the government
needs to be willing to offer constantly constructive
feedback to the people in regards to the unsustainable
habits that need to be changed.
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