The where, how, and who of mitigating climate change: A targeted research agenda for psychology

Abstract

Psychology has been making targeted contributions to climate change research for at least a decade. However, its efforts to date have not produced the knowledge needed to bring about the transformational societal change required to mitigate climate change. In this article, we invert the current logic of applying psychological theories to mitigate climate change. Instead, we begin by identifying the social change strategies capable of mitigating climate change, such as social tipping dynamics, and then highlight the corresponding knowledge that psychology must create to support and accelerate these dynamics. We suggest that psychology can help to answer the question of “Where to?” – i.e. the direction we should head for sustainability – by identifying the feasibility of consumption corridors. Next, psychology can help to answer the question of “How do we get there?” by producing more knowledge about human capacity for change. Finally, psychology can help to answer the question of “Who will get us there?” by exploring the motivations of three key social groups: activists, experienced individuals, and the affluent. Individually, each area of research can accelerate societal change. Taken together, the different areas can reinforce each other and amplify their respective impacts. The goal of the research agenda is to accelerate positive societal tipping dynamics that could limit global warming to 1.5 °C.