Co-benefits of addressing climate change can motivate action around the world

Bain, Paul G.; Milfont, Taciano L.; Kashima, Yoshihisa; Bilewicz, Michał; Doron, Guy; Garðarsdóttir, Ragna B.; Gouveia, Valdiney V.; Guan, Yanjun; Johansson, Lars-Olof; Pasquali, Carlota; Corral-Verdugo, Victor; Aragones, Juan Ignacio; Utsugi, Akira; Demarque, Christophe; Otto, Siegmar; Park, Joonha; Soland, Martin; Steg, Linda; González, Roberto; Lebedeva, Nadezhda; Madsen, Ole Jacob; Wagner, Claire; Akotia, Charity S.; Kurz, Tim; Saiz, José L.; Schultz, P. Wesley; Einarsdóttir, Gró; Saviolidis, Nina M.

doi:10.1038/nclimate2814

Co-benefits of addressing climate change can motivate action around the world

Bain, Paul G.; Milfont, Taciano L.; Kashima, Yoshihisa; Bilewicz, Michał; Doron, Guy; Garðarsdóttir, Ragna B.; Gouveia, Valdiney V.; Guan, Yanjun; Johansson, Lars-Olof; Pasquali, Carlota; Corral-Verdugo, Victor; Aragones, Juan Ignacio; Utsugi, Akira; Demarque, Christophe; Otto, Siegmar; Park, Joonha; Soland, Martin; Steg, Linda; González, Roberto; Lebedeva, Nadezhda; Madsen, Ole Jacob; Wagner, Claire; Akotia, Charity S.; Kurz, Tim; Saiz, José L.; Schultz, P. Wesley; Einarsdóttir, Gró; Saviolidis, Nina M.

Authors

Paul G. Bain

Taciano L. Milfont

Yoshihisa Kashima

Michał Bilewicz

Guy Doron

Ragna B. Garðarsdóttir

Valdiney V. Gouveia

Professor Yanjun Guan yanjun.guan@durham.ac.uk
Dissertation/SCA/SBP Supervisor

Lars-Olof Johansson

Carlota Pasquali

Victor Corral-Verdugo

Juan Ignacio Aragones

Akira Utsugi

Christophe Demarque

Siegmar Otto

Joonha Park

Martin Soland

Linda Steg

Roberto González

Nadezhda Lebedeva

Ole Jacob Madsen

Claire Wagner

Charity S. Akotia

Tim Kurz

José L. Saiz

P. Wesley Schultz

Gró Einarsdóttir

Nina M. Saviolidis

Abstract

Personal and political action on climate change is traditionally thought to be motivated by people accepting its reality and importance. However, convincing the public that climate change is real faces powerful ideological obstacles1, 2, 3, 4, and climate change is slipping in public importance in many countries5, 6. Here we investigate a different approach, identifying whether potential co-benefits of addressing climate change7 could motivate pro-environmental behaviour around the world for both those convinced and unconvinced that climate change is real. We describe an integrated framework for assessing beliefs about co-benefits8, distinguishing social conditions (for example, economic development, reduced pollution or disease) and community character (for example, benevolence, competence). Data from all inhabited continents (24 countries; 6,196 participants) showed that two co-benefit types, Development (economic and scientific advancement) and Benevolence (a more moral and caring community), motivated public, private and financial actions to address climate change to a similar degree as believing climate change is important. Critically, relationships were similar for both convinced and unconvinced participants, showing that co-benefits can motivate action across ideological divides. These relationships were also independent of perceived climate change importance, and could not be explained by political ideology, age, or gender. Communicating co-benefits could motivate action on climate change where traditional approaches have stalled.

Citation

Bain, P. G., Milfont, T. L., Kashima, Y., Bilewicz, M., Doron, G., Garðarsdóttir, R. B., …Saviolidis, N. M. (2016). Co-benefits of addressing climate change can motivate action around the world. Nature Climate Change, 6(2), 154-157. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2814

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Sep 1, 2015
Online Publication Date	Sep 28, 2015
Publication Date	Feb 1, 2016
Deposit Date	May 19, 2016
Publicly Available Date	May 20, 2016
Journal	Nature climate change.
Print ISSN	1758-678X
Electronic ISSN	1758-6798
Publisher	Nature Research
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	6
Issue	2
Pages	154-157
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2814
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1411969