Climate Psychology and Environmental Policies

Dear Colleagues,

Global warming is one of the greatest challenges of our times. Scientists regard anthropogenic greenhouse gases—those resulting from human-induced sources—as the main contributor. So, we humans must change our behavior in the short term to mitigate the effects of global warming in the long term. However, despite the efforts of politicians, policymakers, and activists, climate action lies behind.

Traditionally, technological, financial, and institutional barriers have been identified as important hindrances to climate action. However, over the years, research has indicated that psychological barriers are also playing a defining role, and different schools of thought from psychology, behavioral economics, and new institutional economics try to explain these barriers in terms of biases, heuristics, hassles, and transaction costs (e.g., de Vries, 2020; de Vries et al., 2019; Ebrahimigharehbaghi & Qian et al., 2019, 2020; Gifford, 2011; Hoppe & de Vries, 2019; Huijts et al., 2019).

Policymakers that aim to motivate climate action could benefit from an in-depth investigation and holistic overview of these overlooked psychological barriers. Stated differently, climate psychology has the potential to improve compliance with environmental policies in order to increase sustainable behavior (e.g., de Vries, 2020; Qian et al 2019). However, empirical, systematic research into the exact nature of climate psychology and the effectiveness of interventions that make use of them are lacking (e.g., de Vries et al., 2019; Ebrahimigharehbaghi & Qian et al., 2019, 2020).

In short, we consider climate psychology as a promising upcoming scientific field with a strong societal and policy impact that has not yet reached its potential.

This Special Issue seeks to explore and further conceptualize and define the phenomenon of climate psychology—particularly in relation to environmental policies. We invite authors from different disciplines to contribute to this Issue. All types of articles are welcome.

Dr. Gerdien de Vries
Dr. Queena K. Qian
Guest Editors

References

1. de Vries, G. (2020). Public communication as a tool to implement environmental policies. Social Issues and Policy Review, 14, 244—272.
2. de Vries, G., Rietkerk, M. & Kooger, R. (2019). The hassle factor as a psychological barrier to a green home. Journal of Consumer Policy, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10603-019-09410-7
3. Ebrahimigharehbaghi, S., Qian, Q.K., Meijer, F.M., & Visscher, H.J. (2019). Unravelling Dutch homeowners' behaviour towards energy efficiency renovations: What drives and hinders their decision-making? Energy Policy, 129, 546-561.
4. Ebrahimigharehbaghi, S., Qian, Q.K., Meijer, F.M., & Visscher, H.J. (2020), Transaction costs as a barrier in the renovation decision-making process: A study of homeowners in the Netherlands, Energy and Buildings, 215, 109849.
5. Gifford, R. (2011). The dragons of inaction: psychological barriers that limit climate change mitigation and adaptation. American Psychologist, 66, 290-302.
6. Hoppe, T., & de Vries, G. (2019). Social innovation and the energy transition. Sustainability, 11, 141.
7. Huijts, N.M., de Vries, G., &  Molin, E.J. (2019). A positive shift in the public acceptability of a low-carbon energy project after implementation: The case of a hydrogen fuel station. Sustainability, 11, 2220.
8. Jia, L., Qian, Q.K., Meijer, F.M., & Visscher, H.J. (2020), Stakeholders’ risk perception: A perspective for proactive risk management in residential building energy retrofits in China. Sustainability, 12, 2832.

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• Climate change
• Climate inaction
• Behavioural insights
• Sustainable behavior
• Transaction costs
• Cognitive biases
• Environmental policies